Practice-Based Learning: The Rose Zetzer Fellowship Program
A lifelong advocate of women’s issues, Rose Zetzer’s pursuit to become a lawyer started in the eighth grade during a discussion of whether women should have the right to vote. After she graduated from Eastern High School, she attended Johns Hopkins University and the School of Law, earning her law degree in 1925. Ms. Zetzer began her efforts to gain admission to the Maryland State Bar Association in 1927, and in 1946 she gained admission as the first female member. Throughout her career, Ms. Zetzer was devoted to women’s rights, spending many hours in Annapolis working for the passage of the women’s jury service bill, rejecting the explanation that women could not fulfill their duties because the courthouses lacked women’s restrooms. In addition, she fought for the repeal of laws discriminating against women, lobbied Congress for the right of married women to work, and for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Selection of Rose Zetzer Fellows: Students interested in applying to become Fellows should enroll in the Gender in the Legal Profession Seminar or the Gender and Law Seminar in the Spring of their second year. At the end of this prerequisite course in April, those students interested in becoming Rose Zetzer Fellows in the fall of their third year (or fourth year if evening students) will complete an application process. Up to ten students who demonstrate a strong intellectual interest in and commitment to women and leadership issues as indicated by their past experience and research and writing skills in the Gender in the Legal Profession Seminar or Gender and Law Seminar will be selected to be Fellows. These students will participate in an Applied Workshop (the Zetzer Fellows Seminar) during their final year of law school. They will also assist faculty in the research component of the Zetzer Fellows Seminar by providing research assistance and by actively participating in website management, panel and symposia planning. They are also eligible to enroll in the optional WLE Externship and do an externship at a women's policy or direct service organization like House of Ruth, the National Women's Law Center or the Maryland Women's Law Center.