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| | Professor Keith Swisher directs the BA in Law and Master's programs at the College of Law. |
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| | Mark L.M. Blair is assistant director. |
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| | Program fellow and professor Joey Zhao. |
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The BA in Law program, begun in 2014 as the first program of its kind in the nation, continues to grow under the thoughtful, energetic, and kind leadership of director Keith Swisher.
The degree is offered in partnership with the University of Arizona's School of Government and Public Policy. In its first semester, now five years ago, the program welcomed approximately 100 new majors.
Growth has been steady, to say the least.
The program added capacity to begin offering microcampus options in 2015 and fully online options in 2017. Total enrollment is now over 1,200.
Most of these are face-to-face students in Tucson and in Qingdao, China. But already there are nearly 150 fully online law majors.
The student body is remarkably diverse, with a significant portion of first-generation college students, over 50 percent ethnic diversity among the US students (and extraordinary diversity among the BA in Law population as a whole), and over 60 percent female. Many BA in Law students are also double majors.
Our first graduates have reported taking great advantage of their undergraduate legal training, entering excellent JD programs (e.g., Chicago, Stanford, USC, and of course Arizona) and half entering an almost infinitely broad range of law-related careers (e.g., in corporate compliance, healthcare, human resources, law enforcement, court services, and tribal government).
The program's accomplishments have been buoyed by the enthusiasm of its undergraduate majors, the dedication of course faculty members such as Rob Williams, Shefali Milczarek-Desai, Andy Coan, Kathie Barnes, Roy Spece, and former Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Mike Miller. The program is also energized by the recent addition of new team members to further support student learning and achievement.
In January, we welcomed Linus Kafka and Marnie Parris-Bingle. They join a team that includes Swisher, assistant director of the undergraduate and master's program Mark L.M. Blair, and program fellow and professor Joey Zhao.
Meet Linus Kafka
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| Career strategies officer Linus Kafka. |
Linus Kafka is the program's career strategies officer and is also a professor of practice at the UA's College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture, where he teaches urban planning law and real estate development law. He holds a JD from the University of Arizona ('96) and a PhD in history from UCLA.
As an attorney, Kafka focused on land use law and local government law, and has also practiced juvenile law and workers' compensation law.
Swisher says,
"Linus has worked in multiple venues -- government, private practice, higher education -- aligning with the broad range of jobs, internships, and industries in which our students are interested and well-suited."
Kafka's experience includes a clerkship in Arizona Superior Court, positions in the Pima County, City of Tucson, and State of Arizona attorney's offices, government internships, research, teaching and advising, and private practice. He has taught history and law at the undergraduate and graduate level at UCLA, UC Irvine, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Arizona.
Read more about Kafka's professional background here.
In his new role, Kafka mentors BA and Master of Legal Studies students seeking career opportunities, internships, and career advice, and fosters community connections that will promote employment for graduates of the program. Swisher explains,
"Linus is essential to our efforts to ensure that both BA in Law students and MLS students continue to receive desirable placements in law-related careers and internships and to promote our wonderful and diverse BA in Law and MLS students to employers, future employers, and internship providers."
Meet Marnie Parris-Bingle
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Program coordinator
Marnie Parris-Bingle.
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Marnie Parris-Bingle joined the College of Law in January as program coordinator. In her new role, she provides administrative, academic, and logistical support for the BA in Law, Master of Legal Studies, and Master of Laws programs, as well as supporting the college's microcampus partnerships.
Parris-Bingle is excited to be at the College of Law, and says that her focus is be on getting systems in place and helping everything run smoothly and seamlessly. Swisher says,
"Marnie is integral to our efforts to advise and assist our growing number of microcampus BA in Law students, and she will coordinate a likewise growing array of opportunities and responsibilities for our U.S.-based BA in Law students. Marnie joins us with over a decade of experience in higher education administration and advising and with a master's in adult and higher education."
Parris-Bingle relocated to Tucson from Grand Rapids, Michigan, one year ago and began working at the UA as a recruitment and retention specialized for the Department of Physiology and on a temporary assignment for the UA Foundation as a prospect research analyst.
In Michigan, she worked for ten years at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) through a Department of Education grant, TRiO, with first-generation, low-income students. Previously, she completed a graduate assistantship and a Master's degree in adult and higher education with an emphasis in college student affairs leadership, also at GVSU. She also worked in development for a private college in Michigan.
She says that, being fairly new to the area, she is having lots of fun trying new restaurants and attending local events.
Read more!
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"I always had a general interest in law school, but the law major confirmed that's what I really wanted to do." Matthew Rein, ASUA Vice President and law major
"I like that the BA in Law provides undergraduate students with the ability to explore the law without having to wait until law school. I have loved every minute of it." Natalynn Masters, ASUA President and law major
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Previous coverage highlights our BA in Law program and students:
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