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΢����Ƶ has the following people who can comment on the nomination of Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye as the next chief justice of the California Supreme Court. Cantil-Sakauye earned a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric at ΢����Ƶ in 1980 and a law degree from the ΢����Ƶ School of Law in 1984. If confirmed, Cantil-Sakauye will be the first Asian American to lead the state’s high court.

Kevin Johnson, dean of the ΢����Ƶ School of Law, can comment broadly on Cantil-Sakauye’s nomination and what it means to one of the nation’s top law schools. Contact: Kevin Johnson, School of Law, (530) 752-0243 (office), (530) 574 8257 (cell), krjohnson@ucdavis.edu.

Sharon Pinkney, assistant dean for admissions at the ΢����Ƶ School of Law, can comment on Cantil-Sakauye’s volunteer work with the King Hall Outreach Program, a ΢����Ƶ program that serves first-generation college students preparing for law school. Contact: Sharon Pinkney, School of Law, (530) 752-6477, slpinkney@ucdavis.edu.

Vikram Amar, a law professor and associate dean for academic affairs at ΢����Ƶ, can comment on some of the legal opinions and decisions Cantil-Sakauye has written or participated in. Contact: Vik Amar, School of Law, (530) 752-8808 (office), (925) 858-8855 (cell), vdamar@ucdavis.edu.

Clay Tanaka, a veteran criminal law attorney and director of legal writing at the ΢����Ƶ School of Law, also has worked with Cantil-Sakauye in connection with a number of programs at the law school. Contact: Clay Tanaka, School of Law, (530) 754-9806, cstanaka@ucdavis.edu.

William Tamayo, regional attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a 1978 ΢����Ƶ law school graduate, was active in the Filipino Law Students Association, which recruited Filipinos like Cantil-Sakauye to the law school. “As the son of a Filipino father who worked on the plantations of Hawaii like Tani’s parents, her appointment is a tribute to our parents’ years of hard work and struggle,” Tamayo said. Like Cantil-Sakauye, Tamayo was a recipient of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Trailblazer Award in 2004. Contact: William Tamayo, U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, (415) 625-5645, William.tamayo@eeoc.gov.

Rex Perschbacher, law professor and former dean of the ΢����Ƶ School of Law, has taught at ΢����Ƶ since 1981 and remembers Cantil-Sakauye as a standout student. Contact: Rex Perschbacher, School of Law, 530-752-7220, rrperschbacher@ucdavis.edu.

About ΢����Ƶ

For more than 100 years, ΢����Ƶ has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, ΢����Ƶ has 32,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $600 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.