Justice/Paralegal Studies grad, Leila Kimbrell, highlighted in UAA Alumni Spirit magazine

Leila Kimbrell

Leila Kimbrell, B.A., Justice, and Paralegal Certificate '02, is a legislative assistant to Senator Lisa Murkowski in her Washington, D.C. office, and was recently highlighted in the spring issue of UAA Alumni Spirit magazine.

Born in Soldotna and raised on the Kenai Peninsula, Leila joined the Senator's staff in 2013 and has been working on economic policy matters. Prior to this, Leila worked as an associate attorney at the law firm of Wohlforth, Brecht, Cartledge & Brooking in Anchorage.

Leila is a member of the UAA Justice Center Paralegal Studies Certificate Program Advisory Committee.


Read the full story here:
"Alumni Stories: Leila Kimbrell"

Dr. Blumenstein participates on panel for UAA Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Students watch "The Party's Over" as a prelude to the panel discussion about sexual assault.

Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein, Justice faculty, participated in the April 22 panel discussing the ABC 20/20 documentary "The Party's Over." The documentary, which aired in January 2015, tells the true story of a sexual assault on the campus of Vanderbilt University and the impact of the incident on the victim, the perpetrators, their families, the university, and the community.

Program panelists also included Stephanie Whaley, Title IX Investigator, UAA Dean of Students Office, and Camilla Hussein-Scott, a UAA student, a survivor of domestic violence, and former president of the UAA NO MORE Alliance. 

Discussion covered the prevalence of this type of sexual misconduct on all college campuses, whether or not the sexual misconduct described in the documentary was surprising, how common  this type of sexual misconduct is on our campus, what the characteristics are of  typical sexual misconduct on our campus, and recommendations for what students can do to help prevent sexual misconduct, including being "a good by-stander"  - if you see something, say something.

The program was held in the Den in the Student Union, and was part of a series of events, including a Resource Fair held earlier the same day.

L to r: Stephanie Whaley, Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein,
Camilla Hussein-Scott.

Dr. Blumenstein invited to join UAA Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition for Change

At UAA, the recently formed Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition for Change includes faculty and staff who are working on developing prevention programs and policy recommendations for the campus.

The group will be asking students to become involved in these efforts. Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein, Justice Center faculty, is a member of the coalition. Her areas of expertise include intimate partner violence, sexual assault and the college population, kidnapping, and research methods.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

In the United States, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). The goal of SAAM is to raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate communities on how to prevent it.

Sexual violence is a major public health, human rights and social justice issue.  UAA recently formed a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition for Change to focus on these concerns. (See related blog post, "Dr. Blumenstein invited to join UAA Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition for Change.")

UAA and Willamette University College of Law sign 3+3 agreement for early entrance to law school

UAA and Willamette University College of Law have signed a memorandum of understanding for a "3+3" program for UAA students. “3+3” refers to 3 years of undergraduate credits plus 3 years of law school.

Under this agreement, UAA students from any major who have completed their required disciplinary credits, all of their GER credits, and a total of 90 credits overall, may apply for admission to Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon.

If they are accepted to the law school, students may matriculate from UAA before completing the reminder of their undergraduate degree.  After participating students complete their first year of law school, UAA will accept up to 30 law school credits as transfer credits toward the total 120 credits necessary for the UAA baccalaureate degree. Thus, students will graduate from UAA after their first year of law school at Willamette.

The program is modeled on a similar partnership between Willamette College of Law and Oregon State University. Click here for details on the OSU program. (Go to the UAA Justice Center web page for program information.  The page is still under development.) Such programs allow students to complete their education more quickly, significantly reducing costs and student loan debt and providing students with an extra year of earning power. These types of agreements are becoming increasingly common among academic institutions.

Curtis Bridgeman, Dean of Willamette University College of Law, visited UAA earlier this year to discuss the proposal with UAA Chancellor Tom Case, Provost "Bear" Baker, and Mary Hughes, UA Board of Regents. Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Legal Studies Program Coordinator at the UAA Justice Center, worked with Willamette to develop the 3+3 program and will be UAA’s point of contact for program advising. 

Dr. Rivera participates in UAA Alcohol Awareness event

UPD Lt. Scott Chafin (left) and Dr. Rivera at the Justice Center display.

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, participated in the UAA Alcohol Awareness Week event held Wednesday, October 26, at the Student Cafeteria.  The "Wii Happy Hour" included pizza, "mocktails," a chance to wear "drunk goggles" to test your equilibrium, and displays by the Justice Center, the University Police Department Drug Paraphernelia, Student Health and Counseling, and others.

The Justice Center display highlighted recent research on college-age drinking and included data from the 2010 survey of UAA students. This event was part of National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week and was coordinated by the UAA Dean of Students Office.

(l to r) Dr. Rivera and Justice majors Mary Dombroski and Kristen Crain-Robinson enjoy pizza while looking at research data.