Contacts:
Richard Gambitta, Ph.D.
Chair of the Dept. of Political Science and Geography, UT-San Antonio
210.458.5608
Roxanne Llewellyn
Press Liaison, UT-San Antonio
210.458.4550
Allegra Young
Dir. Communications, UT School of Law
512.471.7330
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS: The event will be held in San Antonio at the Buena Vista Street Building, Meeting/Assembly Room 1.338 from 6:00-8:00 on Tuesday, July 17.
UT SCHOOL OF LAW, UTSA TO PARTNER ON
UTSA INSTITUTE FOR LAW AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Institute to support UTSA students and South Texans
AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Texas Secretary of State, Henry Cuellar, Chief Justice Phil
Hardberger of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and State Representative
Trey Martinez Fischer, a graduate of both UT-San Antonio and the School of Law,
are expected to join UT System Board of Regents Cyndi Krier, UTSA President
Ricardo Romo and UT School of Law Dean Bill Powers to unveil the UTSA Institute
for Law and Public Affairs.
The UT School of Law will announce to an audience of State Bar members in San Antonio its support of the program and contribution to funding the Institute.
“Its been estimated that less than 10 percent of those in the legal profession are minorities,” said State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, who graduated from UTSA and from the UT School of Law (J.D. ’98). “I’m excited about the Institute because of the possibilities it introduces to minority students, as well as to the entire San Antonio and South Texas community.”
The Institute for Law and Public Affairs at the UTSA broadens the vision of the successful pre-law institute at UT-El Paso. The new institute will create a certificate program for year-long classes combined with two summer pre-law academies, to begin in the summer of 2002. This fall, letters to students will solicit summer academy applications. Further the institute will sponsor lecture series, symposia, and seminars of interest to the South Texas public, Bar, and local community. Annually, the institute plans to hold an “Eyes of Texas Lecture Series,” focusing on issues of special interest to our state.
UTSA’s Downtown Campus will house the new institute and Dr. Richard Gambitta, Chair of the Department of Political Science and Geography, will direct the institute, which will begin Sept. 1 of this year.
“This innovative program will expose UTSA students to rigorous training, using some of the best teachers from the School of Law and UTSA. The training will help them succeed in law and public affairs. But even if these students choose not to go to law school, they will be better positioned for the field of their choice,” said Dean Bill Powers of the University of Texas School of Law.
UTSA President Ricardo Romo added, “This collaboration between the UT School of Law and UTSA marks an important milestone in UTSA's aspiration of providing students with one of the best pre-law programs available anywhere.”
Richard Gambitta said, "Beyond pre-law education, the institute will have important research and outreach roles, focusing on issues of importance to the people and governments of Texas. Overall, the institute will be a partnership in law and public affairs linking the UTSA, the UT School of Law, and the people and students of South Texas."
Several of the leading UT School of Law professors will work with the San Antonio students including Professor Jack Getman, Senior Lecturers Terri LeClercq, Ph.D. and David Sokolow and the Admissions Director, Assistant Dean Shelli Soto.
Success based on UT- El Paso program
The new program was based on the successful UT- El Paso program developed jointly by UT-El Paso and the School of Law. Now into its third year, the program has demonstrably increased the number of students who have been accepted into law schools nationwide including the UT School of Law, Harvard, University of Virginia, Columbia, Texas Tech and others.
The Law School Preparation Institute at UT El Paso was designed to provide intensive pre-law training for selected students over the summers before their junior and senior years. Students were selected for the program on academic performance and maturity of interest in law.
The Texas Legislature supports the program with a $1 million grant for Border Legal Studies. Bob Webking, PhD, professor of political science at UT El Paso, and Bill Weaver, PhD, conceived the idea for the program and serve as the faculty for the Institute. The program is supported by a variety of sources, including UT El Paso and its Public Policy Research center, the UT system, UT law school, Baylor Law School, Texas Wesleyan Law School, the Texas College of Probate Judges, the El Paso Bar Association, the Mexican-American Bar Association, and several individual attorneys in El Paso.
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