Riddle previously served as assistant dean and multicultural affairs officer for Widener University School of Law and as assistant director for Diversity Initiatives at the Law School Admission Council. Founded in 1899, John Marshall was an early pioneer in opening its doors and admitting minorities, women and immigrants. The law school graduated its first female student, Jessie Cook, in 1903; its first African-American student, James Randle, in 1904 and its first Hispanic student, William E. Rodriguez, in 1912. Today, with more than 34 percent of the student body at John Marshall composed of minority students, the law school's student body is one of the most diversified in the nation according to preLaw Magazine. Of the 1,032 students currently enrolled in the law school's J.D. program, 353 identify as African American, Asian, Hispanic and other diverse backgrounds. The numbers reflect John Marshall's longstanding mission to encourage minority and under-represented students to pursue a career in the law.