Professorship established in memory of Civil Rights Movement leaders
University of Pennsylvania Law School has set up a professorship for the study of civil rights and race relations. The Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professorship is a tribute to the achievements of two civil rights movement leaders and will be funded by a $1 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and a contribution of $100,000 from Philadelphia law firm Duane Morris. The school's dean, Michael A. Fitts, stated that the issues of race relations and discrimination can be addressed only through concentrated study and discussion. Sheldon Bonovitz, the chairman and chief executive officer of Duane Morris, emphasized the importance of raising awareness among law students regarding the contributions of great African-Americans.
UC Davis Law program helps students serve the public
Emily Fisher of Chico is no less than a messiah for the low-income residents and senior citizens from five Northern California counties who depend on her for free legal assistance with matters ranging from eviction notices to creditor harassment. Fisher, a graduate of UC Davis School of Law, is passionate about serving the public, even if it means working in a low-paying job. The Loan Repayment Assistance Program at UC Davis helps graduates like Fisher repay their educational debt. It provides graduates with thousands of dollars in loans and grants and, at the same time, provides low-income citizens with greater access to justice. Established in 1990, the program at UC Davis alleviates financial problems for students caught between low salaries and debt, said Rex Perschbacher, dean of the law school. A UC Davis law student pays $24,360 in annual fees. Therefore, the average student will graduate with $57,600 in debt. While salaries for entry-level jobs at large firms start at about $135,000, entry-level public-service jobs pay only $30,000 to $40,000. So far, the program has provided more than $50,000 in assistance annually. However, the school recently revised the program to include government positions and raised the qualifying-salary cap from $40,000 to $53,000.
Harvard Law and University of Sydney launch exchange program
Harvard Law School and the University of Sydney, one of the oldest law schools in Australia, have established a student exchange program. The move was spurred by an aim to increase international opportunities available to students at both schools. Selected Harvard Law J.D. candidates will be able to spend a semester in Sydney beginning in July 2007, and an equal number of final-year Australian students pursuing undergraduate law degrees will come to Harvard for one semester. The exchange program will allow students from both universities to gain knowledge of different legal systems. The alliance will also include professors in order to enable them to pursue joint research and teaching projects. Professor Ron McCallum, University of Sydney's law dean, said that this program will "lead to broader understanding of law, foster international friendships, and build transnational networks of students and scholars." Harvard Law already has a number of links established with distinguished schools around the world in countries such as the UK, Chile, China, Ghana, Israel, Italy, and the Netherlands.
New St. Thomas Law School dean seeks to boost bar exam scores
St. Thomas University School of Law's new dean, Alfredo Garcia, has unveiled a 10-point plan to improve the school's bar passage rates. According to Garcia, the school needs to prevent the losses of its best students at the ends of their first years. However, he says that the challenge lies in improving the quality of the law school's entering class while sustaining the school's demographic diversity. Last summer, the law school's graduates passed the Florida bar exam at a rate of 61.3%—the second-lowest rate among the 10 law schools in Florida. Garcia's 10-point plan includes the introduction of bar-type multiple choice questions on comprehensive exams, as well as tutoring for first-year students on how to answer bar-type questions. It also suggests replacing first-semester grades with grades based on the end-of-year comprehensive exams. Garcia also advocates admitting a spring class, as spring classes in the past have met with much more success than classes admitted in the fall.
Kilpatrick to publish biography on civil rights activist Wiley Austin Branton
Judith Kilpatrick, professor and associate dean at the University of Arkansas School of Law, will be publishing a biography of Wiley Austin Branton entitled When We Needed Him: Wiley Austin Branton, Civil Rights Warrior to mark the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock Crisis. Branton, a native of Arkansas, was one of the major architects of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. He made significant contributions to the largest voter registration effort in U.S. history. Branton also did commendable work related to public school registration in the Little Rock school district. Because of Branton's dedication to voter registration drives, between 1948 and 1967 the number of African- American voters in the South increased from 5% of eligible voters to more than 50%, Kilpatrick said. The biography will be published by the University of Arkansas Press.
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