Law school, university establish pipeline to legal career

WINSTON-SALEM — A new agreement has opened a path for Winston-Salem State University graduates to receive a substantial scholarship and attend law school at nearby Wake Forest University.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the schools commits Wake Forest to enrolling two Winston-Salem State students each admissions cycle and providing each with a scholarship worth at least $35,000 per academic year, a news release from the historically black university says. The scholarship is renewable for up to three years.

Leaders at both universities praised the agreement.

“The partnership we are establishing today [Oct. 2] with Wake Forest School of Law ushers in a new era of opportunity for our students,” Winston-Salem State’s chancellor, Bonita Brown, said in the release. “It creates a clear and sustainable pathway to law school, removing obstacles and broadening access to the legal profession.

“This agreement strengthens the pipeline of future legal professionals by addressing barriers that have historically hindered access to law careers for many of our students.”

Said Andrew Klein, dean of Wake Forest’s law school: “As two anchor institutions of higher education in this community, the partnership between our schools was a natural fit. And with Chancellor Brown’s deep ties to Wake Forest, the coming together of our institutions is a positive development for our region, indeed for our entire state.”

Brown earned her undergraduate and Juris Doctor degrees at Wake Forest.

The memorandum is the second such agreement between the universities. In the spring, their leaders signed an agreement to create an educational pipeline to the physician’s assistant program at the Wake Forest School of Medicine.