{"id":18178,"date":"2022-04-14T09:34:21","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T14:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/?p=18178"},"modified":"2022-05-04T14:51:36","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T19:51:36","slug":"mama-sharon-the-model-of-caring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/2022\/04\/14\/mama-sharon-the-model-of-caring\/","title":{"rendered":"Mama Sharon: The model of caring"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Sharon Van Leer, in front of the bulletin board in her office<\/p><\/div>\n

You first notice the bulletin board inside Sharon Van Leer\u2019s new office at Mitchell Hamline. Family photos include great-grandson and NBA rookie Jalen Suggs, along with some of the 36 foster children she\u2019s raised. The remaining photos are of former students, though Van Leer quickly adds they also count as family.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d be surprised how many I talk to every day,\u201d she chuckles.<\/p>\n

Chris Pham is on that board. The 2009 alum and Mitchell Hamline trustee stops to see \u201cMama Sharon\u201d during every campus visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were times I felt like an outcast,\u201d said Pham, who noted the school was much less racially diverse when he attended. Pham often studied, ate, or just hung out in Van Leer\u2019s office. \u201cMama Sharon\u2019s always been like a den mother, taking in students and being there to talk about law school or life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now marking 30 years at Mitchell Hamline (and William Mitchell before that) Sharon Van Leer, 74, has been an influential part of many students\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

Currently a director of DEI, Van Leer spent several years as a specialist for what was then the Office of Multicultural and International Inclusion. She joined William Mitchell in 1991 as an administrative assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s the model of caring,\u201d said Michael Birchard, who as vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion is Van Leer\u2019s supervisor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about DEI, we sometimes forget the \u2018B\u2019 for \u2018belonging.\u2019 She makes students \u2013 many who come from families where law school is not a tradition \u2013 feel they belong.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there\u2019s an obstacle \u2013 housing, transportation, or something else \u2013 she works tirelessly to find solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some cases, she\u2019s let students stay at her house until they can find a place \u2013 a generosity that doesn\u2019t end at commencement. Shantel Thompson \u201917 stayed with Van Leer when she took the bar this summer; Van Leer was one of her first calls in October to tell her she passed.<\/p>\n

Sadly, Thompson was the victim of a random shooting attack just days later. Again, Van Leer was one of her first calls. \u201cShe\u2019s a genuinely caring person,\u201d said Thompson, from her hospital room. \u201cI\u2019ve seen her help so many people.\u201d The two texted or talked most days following the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cSharon has an amazing ability to make a few calls and find whatever someone needs,\u201d said Dean of Students Lynn LeMoine \u201811. \u201cFor many students, those resources can be the difference that allows them to remain in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her connections shouldn\u2019t be a surprise. Van Leer\u2019s office, complete with the candy bowl that attracts its own cadre of visitors, is blocks from where she grew up in St. Paul\u2019s historically Black Rondo neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Deeply involved in her AME church, Van Leer famously invited young people over for meals after services. That led to her becoming a licensed foster parent.<\/p>\n

\"Mitchell<\/a>

This article first appeared in our Spring 2022 alumni magazine, Mitchell Hamline Law.<\/p><\/div>\n

She now lives in Woodbury, Minnesota, where she was elected to a third term on the school board last November. She also serves on the commission that recommends judicial nominees to Minnesota\u2019s governor, and another that investigates attorney ethics complaints in Hennepin County.<\/p>\n

Even so, the connections aren\u2019t always from her impressive Rolodex. When colleague Tina Scaramuzzo and Van Leer take walks, Van Leer often photographs buildings with \u201cFor Rent\u201d signs \u2013 in case a student asks about housing near campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s unapologetically who she is,\u201d said Scaramuzzo. \u201cThat means sometimes bluntly telling you exactly how she feels, but it also means always going the extra mile for students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Leer\u2019s office is also part of a new suite that includes student space for studying or just hanging out.<\/p>\n

When a Mitchell Hamline administrator called Cedrick Frazier \u201807 this year, his first question was whether Mama Sharon was still there.<\/p>\n

\u201cSharon Van Leer is the reason a lot of us stay connected to the law school,\u201d said Frazier, now a Minnesota state representative. \u201cShe was the glue that held things together for a lot of us – someone to talk to in a new and unfamiliar environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow alum Adine Momoh \u201909, an equity partner at Stinson, agrees. \u201cFor a law student, especially law students of color in Minnesota where there are not many who look like you and there are not many faculty or staff of color, being greeted by a warm, familiar face who genuinely cares and takes the time to ask how you are doing is important,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps build a sense of community and security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell Hamline has ramped up work in recent years to be more inclusive and equitable. Faculty approved a resolution in February 2021 declaring the school\u2019s work would be done with an antiracist lens. In the aftermath of George Floyd\u2019s murder, the Dispute Resolution Institute convened several discussions \u2013 an effort called Truth and Action. Recent hiring has been more racially diverse, as well.<\/p>\n

As DEI efforts expand, many employees and students have stepped up to lead them, but they are still rooted in Van Leer\u2019s numerous examples of caring, according to Birchard.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s taught us how to care,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s our job to replicate that throughout the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Leer credits Mitchell Hamline with better realizing the \u201cunconscious bias we all have. The school is more willing to take a chance on a culture shift.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to speak my truth as we do that. But for these students, the most important thing that resonates is feeling they have a place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can come to me anytime.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You first notice the bulletin board inside Sharon Van Leer\u2019s new office at Mitchell Hamline. Family photos include great-grandson and NBA rookie Jalen Suggs, along with some of the 36 foster children she\u2019s raised. The remaining photos are of former students, though Van Leer quickly adds they also count as family. \u201cYou\u2019d be surprised how … <\/p>\n

Mama Sharon: The model of caring<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5668,"featured_media":18181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,3,5,77],"tags":[381,28,380,379,127,157,203,382,378],"class_list":{"0":"post-18178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-alumni","8":"category-features","9":"category-news","10":"category-office-of-diversity-equity-and-inclusion","11":"tag-adine-momoh","12":"tag-alumni","13":"tag-cedrick-frazier","14":"tag-chris-pham","15":"tag-dei","16":"tag-lynn-lemoine","17":"tag-michael-birchard","18":"tag-shantel-thompson","19":"tag-sharon-van-leer","20":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5668"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}