UALR law school adds Hendrix to program
law school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has added another of the state’s colleges to its Pathway Program, which streamlines the admittance process for qualified students.
Hendrix College is the latest in a recent flurry as the University of Arkansas at Monticello and Lyon College announced their participation in the William H. Bowen School of Law Pathway Program in January. That followed the same news from Arkansas Tech University in December. Hendrix and Bowen announced their partnership last month.
“We are excited to partner with the Bowen School of Law in this program for students who wish to attend law school,” Hendrix President Karen Petersen noted in a news release from the college. “Hendrix has a strong tradition of preparing students for successful admission to law school, as well as many alumni who have attended Bowen and gone on to successful careers and contributed significantly to their communities in Arkansas and across the country.”
Students who have earned a bachelor’s degree from participating institutions — the likes of Philander Smith College and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff also have similar existing partnerships with Bowen — with a gradepoint average of 3.4 or higher and who have attained a score of 154 or higher on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) within the previous five years, demonstrate good character and have no issues that would hinder admission to the bar, will qualify for the program and be guaranteed admission to Bowen, said Alexus Raymo, Bowen’s director of communications and public relations.
“We have always had a strong relationship with the Bowen School of Law, [as] many Hendrix students have gone on to study law at Bowen and they generously share their experiences, as well as their expertise, with current students through guest lectures, mentoring and the occasional internship,” Kim Maslin, professor of politics and pre-law adviser at Hendrix, said in her school’s news release. “Arkansas is fortunate to have this first-rate institution, and we look forward to continuing to grow this partnership in the coming months and years.”
The agreements take effect this spring, meaning students who graduate in May from Hendrix, ATU, Lyon and UAM may apply for the Pathway Program and start at Bowen this fall, said Angie Faller, UALR news director.
The goal is “to provide highly qualified and motivated students of exceptional academic and intellectual ability guaranteed acceptance” into the Bowen School of Law and “to attract and retain highly qualified and motivated students of exceptional academic and intellec
tual ability,” according to the agreements.
“There’s a lot of economic opportunity in Arkansas, but we need strong higher education infrastructure, and Hendrix is so important to this state and the region,” Petersen noted shortly after she took over as leader of Hendrix last year. “We educate students who go on to do the most amazing things.”
These collaborations with other colleges and universities align with “our mission to address the pressing need for legal professionals in our state,” and they benefit not only the law school but also contribute to the “broader goal of increasing the number of skilled legal professionals in Arkansas,” Colin Crawford, dean of the Bowen Law School, previously said. “Our shared commitment to facilitating access to legal education is a positive step toward building a more robust legal workforce, ultimately serving the needs of our communities and enhancing the overall legal landscape in the state.”
Robert Steinbuch, a longtime member of the Bowen faculty, recently praised the expansion of the Pathway Program in an editorial for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
“Bowen’s simplified admissions program for undergraduates with impressive metrics at affiliated schools is wholly merit-based and fully transparent,” wrote Steinbuch, the Arkansas Bar distinguished professor at Bowen. “Either you chin the bar or you don’t — and you’ll know immediately which is the case.
“Applicants simply want to know whether they satisfy the standards for enrollment,” he added. “The Pathway Program offers exactly that comforting certainty.”
While law school is never inexpensive, Bowen is “very affordable” — less than $17,000 annually for in-state students — compared with other law schools across the country, and “that is by design, not accidental,” Crawford has said previously.
Bowen has lots of nontraditional and first-generation law students who improve not only their lives but also those of their families through a law degree, he said.
It’s paramount to provide access to a legal education for Arkansans because Arkansas, like several other states, has too few lawyers providing legal services, especially in rural and/or impoverished areas, Crawford pointed out.
“The first [enrollment] priority has to be Arkansans, and they will continue to be our focus,” he said.