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UVA Wise, Appalachian School of Law sign 3-plus-3 program

Chancellor Henry and ASL Leadership Sign a 3-plus-3 agreement.
Chancellor Henry and ASL Leadership Sign a 3-plus-3 agreement.
Photo: Nathan Rasnake

The University of Virginia's College at Wise and Appalachian School of Law are pleased to announce that they have recently entered into a collaborative initiative, known as a 3-plus-3 program, that provides UVA Wise students with an efficient and structured pathway into a legal career. When enrolled in a 3-plus-3 program, students at UVA Wise enter ASL after three years of undergraduate study and receive their baccalaureate degree upon completing the first year of law school. Two years later they graduate from ASL with a law degree.

​The students benefit from this initiative in several ways. The most practical benefit is getting to the legal job market in less time and expense. In her remarks at the signing ceremony, former Virginia Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, who now serves as ASL’s President and Dean, added that the initiative also provides intangible benefits. She believes that the “expectations of the program, as well as its clearly stated goals, provides students with an aspirational architecture for constructing their own futures.” That is particularly important, she emphasized, in a time where students are searching for “a strong, reliable hope for an ordered and meaningful future.”

In her remarks, UVA Wise Chancellor Donna P. Henry observed that the 3-plus-3 initiative brings together two institutions with a similar mission and legacy. She noted that many UVA Wise students have a passion for Appalachia and the various communities that comprise it. “As I see it, attorneys in rural areas of the country are needed, and the students who go to the Appalachian School of Law want to stay in rural areas and they want to serve,” Chancellor Henry said. “This is a great opportunity for our UVA Wise students as well. Our rural students want to stay here and our students from outside the area fall in love with our region.”

Dean McClanahan agreed, noting that the great majority of ASL graduates from UVA Wise primarily serve the citizens of Appalachia, many of whom are very much in need of talented, educated minds and affordable legal representation.

For more information on this 3-plus-3 initiative, please contact ASL Dean of Admissions Holly Cline at (276) 935-4349 Ext. 1245 or Chris Dearth, UVA Wise Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management at 276-328-0322.