SMC Law Pathway Program Receives Diversity Champion Award

Santa Monica College’s Law Pathway Program Honored with Diversity Champion Award

Given by California LAW Pathways Advisory Council, Award Recognizes Outstanding Organizations for Supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the Law Field

SANTA MONICA, CA—The Santa Monica College (SMC) Law Pathway program has been honored with the Diversity Champion Award, established in 2016 by the California LAW Pathways Advisory Council to recognize outstanding organizations for their efforts in supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the law field. The award was announced at the Annual Pathways to Law Summit held Feb. 23 – 24 at UC Davis School of Law. Past awardees include UC Berkeley School of Law, UCLA School of Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, Rio Hondo College, and Saddleback College, among many others.

SMC’s Law Pathway Program was recognized in particular for the 100 percent transfer and graduate rate since its inception. Last fall, the program entered its seventh year, with 51 students. Most recently, all the SMC Law Pathway graduates transferred to UCLA with the exception of one who transferred to UC Berkeley—bringing the total number of graduates to 107.

The rigorous pre-law program requires completion of nine courses and offers one-on-one mentoring, exposure to careers in law, networking opportunities, tailored counseling and leadership training. Students who successfully complete the Law Pathway Program earn priority admission review—as well as the waiving of application fees—at California LAW’s 15 law school partners (the number has doubled since the program’s inception): UC Berkeley,​UCLA, UC Irvine,​ UC Davis​, UC San Francisco, UC San Diego, University of San Diego, University of Southern California, Loyola Marymount University​, Santa Clara University, Pepperdine University, University of the Pacific​, University of San Francisco, Southwestern Law School, and Chapman University.​

SMC’s Law Pathway Program team includes counselor Vicenta Arrizon, Ed.D.; business professor Nathan Khalil, J.D.; political science professor Christina Gabler, Ph.D.; and Debra Locke, Ed.D, interim dean of special programs.

“It is wonderful to be recognized for the work that we do for our students in the SMC Law Pathway Program,” Arrizon, Khalil, and Gabler wrote in a joint statement. “This award is a celebration of our students and our efforts over the last seven years developing the program. It is also a testament to the collaborations and partnerships that we have forged with our community stakeholders and with the nonprofit, Cal LAW Pathways. We are very proud of our many students who continue to thrive and who ultimately are diversifying the legal profession to the benefit of all.” 

Santa Monica College founded its Law Pathway Program after joining the California LAW Community College Pathway to Law School Initiative in 2015, a collaborative effort between California LAW Inc., The State Bar of California’s Council on Access & Fairness, 29 community colleges, and 15 law schools. The nonprofit California Leadership-Access-Workforce (Cal LAW) Pathway coordinated this unprecedented program “to establish a pipeline of diverse students from high schools, community colleges, four-year institutions, and law schools into law or law-related careers so that the legal profession reflects the diverse population of the State of California.”

Cal LAW, whose advisory council gave SMC’s Law Pathway Program the award, was established under the leadership of the State Bar of California’s Council on Access and Fairness (COAF) and with support from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) to provide a clear educational pathway for diverse students from high schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions into law schools or law-related careers. Today, Cal LAW continues to be an innovative statewide diversity pathway program that begins in tenth grade and ends in law school, with 23 high school law academies, 35 California community colleges, 16 undergraduate universities, and 15 American Bar Association-accredited California law school partners. Cal LAW is housed at the Foundation for California Community Colleges. To learn more about Cal LAW, visit calawpathways.org.

Through the SMC Foundation and Financial Aid & Scholarships, two scholarships are made available exclusively for students in the SMC Law Pathway Program. The five recipients of the Daniel L. Stewart Pre-Law Pathways Scholarship and the five recipients of the Mark Ivener Law Pathways Scholarship each receive $1,000, totaling $10,000 in scholarships annually. Applications for the coming academic year will be accepted in May 2024. For more information on the program, see smc.edu/LawPathway or email Arrizon_Vicenta@smc.edu.

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