The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) of The Bar Association of San Francisco (JDC) is pleased to announce the establishment of the Joseph “Joe” Remcho Memorial Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship Fund. The Joe Remcho Scholarship will be used to consecutively provide three minority law school students with a $10,000 scholarship per year for three years.

Funded by Dr. Ruth Shaber, the scholarships will be awarded to diverse students who demonstrate academic excellence, a commitment to the community and have been accepted to one of eight Bay Area law schools. The fund honors the memory of Joe Remcho and the tireless efforts of his widow, Ronnie Caplane.

Caplane, recognized by JDC in 2014 as an outstanding volunteer for her work as a member of its Bay Area Minority Law School Student Scholarship Program Committee, will assist in selecting scholarship recipients. In addition, Caplane has expressed an interest in mentoring scholars and playing an active role in their academic career.

Caplane has been an essential member of the committee since its inception in 1998.

The Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship Program was established to reaffirm JDC’s commitment to diversity in legal education and in response to the passage of SP-1, the University of California Regent’s resolution to end affirmative action and race-based admissions at UC schools. Since the program was established in 1998, more than $1.7 million in scholarships have been awarded to 93 students.

To learn more about the Minority Law Student Scholarship Program, contact Elizabeth McGriff, Director of Diversity Pipeline Programs at emcgriff@sfbar.org.

If you would like to learn more about how to contribute to the scholarship program or establish a named scholarship, contact Steve Love, Director of Donor and Community Engagement at slove@sfbar.org.