SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) – Cosumnes River College (CRC) announced a partnership with California LAW that will create a pathway for students to complete their education and enter the legal profession. Cal LAW collaborates with community colleges throughout the state to encourage diverse students to enter the legal profession in order to best represent the population of the state of California. 

Community colleges partnering with Cal LAW are chosen because of their high commitment to equity, demonstrated by college leadership and resources that provide transformative educational experiences and support for students on a pathway to a law career.

“Having the Cal LAW pathway at CRC is significant as it affirms and reinforces our commitment to implementing innovative practices that allow our college to effectively serve our diverse student population,” stated Dr. Edward Bush, President of CRC.  “The Cal LAW program’s aim is to increase the number of diverse students entering the legal profession.  Given the demographics of our student body, coupled with our focus and progress on improving student outcomes, CRC is the ideal institutional partner to meet the Cal LAW objective of having legal professionals that are representative of the community in which they serve.”

California LAW (Leadership – Access – Workforce) is an organization created to be the foundational structure that connects, communicates, collaborates, and coordinates with programs working to help diverse students enter the legal profession. It consists of 22 high school law academies created under the California Partnership Academy model in a unique collaboration between the State Bar of California and the California Department of Education.

Additionally, Cal LAW includes members of the Community College Pathway to Law School initiative which includes 29 community colleges throughout the state and nine undergraduate institutions and their law schools, resulting in an educational pipeline into the legal profession created under the leadership of the State Bar of California's Council on Access and Fairness.

“The Cal LAW Pathway at CRC is an amazing program that will help students develop necessary and unique skill sets to be more competitive in a global marketplace,” said Joel Powell, Dean of Business and Computer Science at CRC. “The Cal LAW Pathway Initiative breaks the old paradigms associated with diversity and student transfer models. The program defines diversity in a very broad and inclusive manner in an effort to reach students from various ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, and even allows cross participation from students who are part of other college programs like Puente and Umoja. The program targets the largest and most diverse pool of students in the state by using community colleges as satellites to house the program. The initiative is designed to directly address the negative effects of disparities that impact access and utilization of the legal system.  CRC students and the community will reap extraordinary benefits as this program continues to grow.” 

For more information on the Cal LAW program at CRC, please call (916) 691-7427 or contact Joel Powell at [email protected].

Since 1970, Cosumnes River College has provided outstanding academic and vocational training to the region. CRC’s main campus is located in south Sacramento County, with a new college outreach center in Elk Grove. The college enrolls a diverse community of 14,000 students and offers multicultural activities throughout the academic year. CRC is committed to fostering a learning community that celebrates diversity, nurtures personal growth and inspires academic and economic leadership. For more information, go to www.crc.losrios.edu.

The Los Rios Community College District is one of the nation's most respected learning institutions and the second-largest community college district in California, serving the greater Sacramento region. Los Rios includes: American River, Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake and Sacramento City colleges; five major education and outreach centers; and specialized workforce and economic development programs for regional businesses, governments and organizations. Los Rios colleges offer AA/AS degrees, certificates and transfer-education opportunities in more than 70 career fields. More than 70,000 students are enrolled in the four colleges. For more information, go to www.losrios.edu.