Stillman College and Southern Illinois University Carbondale have signed an agreement to help students from the historically Black liberal arts college enroll and earn a degree from the Southern Illinois University School of Law.
Under the agreement, SIU and Stillman College, a 761-student institution in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will engage in collaborative academic activities with the SIU School of Law that promote a path for Stillman College students to enroll in the law school and earn their law degree.
“This program will allow selected students to participate in a summer pre-law program to expose them to the rigor and policies of law school admissions,” said Cynthia Warrick, president of Stillman College.
Camille Davidson, dean of SIU’s School of Law, noted that about two-thirds of minority applicants who apply to the law school are not accepted primarily due to low Law School Admission Test scores. In October 2021, there were 246 students in the law school, of which 17, or 7 percent, were Black.
“We are committed to being an anti-racist and inclusive law school,” Dean Davidson said. “The only way to have real access to justice is to train attorneys from various backgrounds. Students from underrepresented populations are often not exposed to the study of law, and many who are interested are not prepared for the application and admissions process. Building partnerships with HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions, like Stillman, will help SIU School of Law become more diverse.”
Professor Davidson graduated from Millsaps College in Jackson Mississippi, with a degree in business administration. She received her juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in Washinton, D.C.
