Vermont Law School Partners With Three HBCUs

The Vermont Law School in South Royalton has entered into a partnership with a group of historically Black colleges and universities in an effort to expand racial diversity in the law school’s student body.

The law school has an agreement with Spelman College and Morehouse College, both in Atlanta, to facilitate the admission of undergraduates at the two colleges into Vermont Law School. A separate agreement with Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, is geared to attracting Central State University students into the law school’s joint programs where students earn a law degree and a master’s degree in either environmental law and policy of energy regulation and law.

Admissions counselors at Vermont Law will travel to partner schools to meet with prospective students and provide insight regarding Vermont Law and its joint degree programs. In the spring, select students will be invited to participate in a Vermont Law-sponsored “Application Preparation Workshop.” Students admitted under the partnership programs will receive scholarships ranging from $5,000 to full tuition.

Shirley Jefferson, dean of student affairs and diversity at Vermont Law School, is the leader of the partnership initiative. She stated, “At Vermont Law, we believe that we should be training the next generation of leaders who will make a difference in their communities and in the world. These are colleges and universities with long histories of promoting racial justice and equality, and we are proud to partner with them.”