Eastern Washington University students aiming to pursue a career in the law may have some new opportunities to do so soon thanks to a collaborative agreement signed recently between EWU and the Gonzaga University School of Law, EWU Provost Scott Gordon and GU Law Dean Jacob Rooksby announced on March 8.
The Memorandum of Understanding forms the EWU-GU Legal Education Collaboration Committee. The committee will include two representatives from each school who will identify and explore the creation of potential legal education programs to enhance EWU student opportunities to access GU Law programs and services.
Specifically, the committee will explore establishing a “3+3 articulation agreement” that would allow EWU students to complete a bachelor’s degree and a GU law degree in six years instead of seven.
EWU students would complete their bachelor’s degrees (except for electives) in three years; they would apply to GU Law in their junior year and attend their first year of law school during what would have been their senior year in college. The first-year law school courses would satisfy electives for the EWU undergraduate degree.
“The collaborative work between Gonzaga and Eastern Washington University is a tremendous achievement for the two universities and one that benefits the community,” Gordon said in a March 8 news release. “The expansion and strengthening of public-private collaborations in Spokane shows the commitment both institutions have to furthering the success of our students, the city and the region.”
“We are thrilled to establish this partnership, which is a ‘win-win’ for both institutions,” Rooksby added. “For years, talented Eastern students have contributed to the vibrancy of our law school. We look forward to strengthening our longstanding relationship with EWU and growing it in ways that will enhance the educational opportunities available to students in the region.”
Other objectives to be explored through the agreement between the schools include strengthening the existing joint juris doctor/master of Social Work program, establishing a joint juris doctor/master of public health program and establishing a joint juris doctor/master of public administration program. It would also establish an interdisciplinary scholar exchange between the schools, establish EWU student internships with the Gonzaga Law Center for Civil and Human Rights, foster information sharing and funding support for law-related guest speakers and events and facilitate GU Law collaboration with the planned EWU Center for Social Innovation.
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