KU News Release

KU sophomore to participate in rigorous summer institute for future law students

Carnez Williams

LAWRENCE — Carnez D. Williams, a University of Kansas sophomore from Wichita, has been selected for the Council on Legal Education Opportunity’s Sophomore Summer Institute, which takes place June 8-28 at the Northern Illinois University School of Law in DeKalb, Ill.

The CLEO Sophomore Summer Institute has been held annually since 2003 and aims to prepare students from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds for the challenges of law school admission and academic preparation. CLEO is a nonprofit project of the American Bar Association. This year, about 20 students from across the nation are participating in the institute.

Williams is an honors student majoring in international studies and journalism and mass communications (strategic communications). He plans to pursue a law degree in the future. He is the son of Kevass and Teketa Harding of Wichita (67220) and a graduate of Wichita Northeast Magnet School. As a high school student, he participated in KU’s Black Leadership Symposium.

He is a 2008 University Scholar whose faculty mentor is Mike Kautsch, professor of law and former dean of KU’s William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Williams also was selected for the 2008 summer internship program with the Black Congressional Caucus in Washington, D.C., but plans to postpone it until next year in order to attend the CLEO Sophomore Summer Institute.

Williams was one of 40 incoming freshmen selected for a 2006-07 Robert J. Dole Public Service Scholarship, which recognizes volunteer and community service. In 2007, he was chosen for the Freshman Leadership Council. He is a resident assistant at Ellsworth Hall.

Through the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center, Williams is a HAWK Link student who has worked with the Am I My Brother’s Keeper conference, Big 12 Conference on Black Student Government and the Black Student Union.

Between 80 and 100 undergraduates applied this year for the rigorous, competitive CLEO undergraduate preparation program for future law students. Among selection criteria are academic achievement, evaluation of a topical essay on legal issues and faculty recommendations. Student expenses are paid through the U. S. Department of Education’s Thurgood Marshall Opportunity Program.

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