Dean Ellen Suni announces School’s public interest law scholarship recipient
Kansas City, Mo. – Heather Jarvis, a national student loan expert, will speak to recent graduates and local attorneys about public interest law and student loans at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Law’s Student Lounge, 500 E. 52nd St., Kansas City, Mo. Jarvis specializes in advocacy and questions about public interest law and loans. For more information, visit www.askheatherjarvis.com. To RSVP and receive a parking pass, email Maggie Porras at porrasm@umkc.edu.
After Jarvis’ presentation, Dean Ellen Suni will announce the winner of the School’s Judge John W. Oliver Public Service Scholars Program. For as many as three years, the Judge John W. Oliver Public Service Program will assist a UMKC law graduate employed in public service with student loan repayment. The Program is funded by the Judge John W. Oliver Foundation, a donor-advised fund of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. Although the loan amount may vary, the anticipated overall award will be $5,000 over the course of three years – $2,000 during the first year and $1,500 during the last two years.
School of Law Dean Ellen Suni, Professor David Achtenberg, Kansas City attorney Robert Levy and Gertrude Oliver, widow of Judge Oliver, established the program in 2008 as a memorial to Judge John W. Oliver, who served as United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.
“I was a law clerk for him (from 1971 to 1973), and he had a gigantic personal impact on everyone he knew,” Levy said. “Then, there’s the issue of social justice and public service. Every city is desperate for young people who can be of service. Judge Oliver exemplified the best tradition of public service. He cared about young people, and he wanted them to get the personal value that comes from serving others. His family and his law clerks established the Foundation to perpetuate the Judge’s memory, and we can think of no better memorial than to make it possible for young people to follow his lead in serving others.”
Scholarship recipients are chosen based on their commitment to public service, amount of unpaid law school loans, anticipated salary from public service employment, family income and other required expenditures, as set forth in the Loan Assistance Repayment Program (LARP) eligibility requirements.
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