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Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars Program is a Partnership between Villanova Law School and Lincoln
Lincoln University students participate in Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars Program (PLUS). Program participants include, sitting from left: LaToya S. Young, senior, Accouting; Kathy-an Pascall, junior, Political Science; Myeedah Leslie, sophomore, Criminal Justice; Morgan M. Shaw, junior, Political Science; and Shari Hathaway, junior, History. Standing from left: Yanique Fogah, junior, International Relations; Sharee Davis, sophomore, Political Science; Dr. Judith A.W. Thomas, dean, School of Social Sciences and Behavioral Studies and co-director of the PLUS Program ; Vivica Folks, sophomore, Criminal Justice; Theirry Yungenge, senior, Business Administration; Sharice Cummings, second-year, Villanova School of Law; Alicia Coleman ’02, second-year Villanova School of Law; David Fields-Asare, senior, Criminal Justice; Zoe Waltrous, junior, Political Science; Emalohi Iruobe, junior, Finance and Banking; Nyosia S. Bowles, English; unidentified student; and Sheila Dow-Ford, Esq., vice president, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEEA).
Lincoln University, PA (www.lincoln.edu)—In an intensified effort to expand the number African-American students entering the legal profession, Lincoln University is currently offering the Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars Program (PLUS) during its summer 2003 session.
Funded by a $100,000 grant from the Law School Admissions Counsel and operated by the Villanova University Law School and Lincoln University, the PLUS Program provides Lincoln students with relevant academic course work and professional mentoring which prepares them for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), various legal positions and other careers in the legal field. The new summer program currently includes 16 Lincoln students (six in-state, 10 out-of-state), began on May 19 and runs through June 27.
“It’s a very well-rounded program and exposes our students to various aspects of the legal profession,” said Dr. Judith A.W. Thomas, dean of Lincoln’s School of Social Sciences and Behavioral Studies, and co-director of the PLUS Program.
Some of the program offerings taught by Lincoln faculty include courses on writing for publications, debating, logic and critical thinking. Program course work is supplemented by weekly lectures from staff at the Villanova Law School, current attorneys and judges from nearby municipalities, legal professionals as well as former Lincoln graduates currently in law school. Students participating in the program range from sophomores to seniors.
According to course participants, the PLUS Program has been everything they expected. “I have always been fascinated with the law profession,” said Thierry Yungenge, a senior majoring in business administration who is participating in the PLUS Program. “My country (Burundi, Africa) has been in civil war and many people have lost their lives. I think going to law school would allow me to defend the rights of people in my native country whose human rights have been violated.”
Latoya Young, a senior accounting major, said being in the PLUS Program would help give her “an advantage” when applying to law school.
Among the many mentors to speak to the PLUS Program students this spring on careers in law were Sheila Dow-Ford, an attorney and vice president for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEEA); and Charisse Carney-Nunes, a 1988 Lincoln alumnae and Harvard Law School graduate who currently works as an attorney with for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, D.C. Carney-Nunes, who represents the NSF before the U.S. Congress, was one of six distinguished Lincoln alumni honored last month during the University’s Founder’s Day and Alumni Awards Banquet. The PLUS Program is taught five days a-week in Room 141 of Dickey Hall. Classes run from 9 a.m.-10 a.m., 10 a.m.-11 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m.-3:20 p.m. Dr. Thomas said the Lincoln faculty have officially approved a pre-law concentration. Fridays are utilized for filed trips to various law firms and legal agencies.
Founded in 1854 as the nation’s first Historically Black University, Lincoln University combines the best elements of a liberal arts and sciences-based undergraduate core curriculum and selected graduate programs to meet the needs of students living in a highly technological and global society.
Lincoln recently kicked off its yearlong celebration of its sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary. The celebration will continue through May 2004 with an array of campus and external events, activities and announcements.