LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Concord Law School of Kaplan University, the nation’s leading fully-online law school, celebrated its nineteenth graduation today at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The graduating class included 59 graduates of the Juris Doctor program and 34 who earned an Executive Juris Doctor degree. The graduating class included 4 who were the first graduates from Concord's Small Business Practice LLM program. Launched in Sept 2010, the LLM program is designed for lawyers and recent law school graduates, providing practical courses focused on the needs of small business clients.
Andrew Rosen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kaplan, Inc., offered the keynote address and noted, “Disparaged at its founding nearly 15 years ago, Concord catalyzed the most transformational higher education movement of this generation. Essentially all of the universities that criticized online education at Concord now find it self-evident, and offer online programs themselves.” He added, “It is now broadly accepted that online will be a central tool for solving the key problems of higher education: costs that are too high, quality that is too low, and too little accountability.” Lauding the graduates, he said, “Each one of you is going to change the world in ways none of us can imagine today, just as the 1,700 Concord grads who came before you have done. Congratulations, Concord class of 2013.”
Rosen leads one of the largest, most diverse education organizations in the world. Throughout his two-decade career at Kaplan, Rosen has helped pioneer much of the company’s innovation with a focus on student success and outcomes. These include the founding of Concord Law School; the development and growth of Kaplan University; and the creation of new blended online and classroom-based learning opportunities for both working adults and test preparation students. In addition, Mr. Rosen is the author of Change.edu:Rebooting For the New Talent Economy (Kaplan Publishing, 2011).
Concord Dean Greg Brandes presided over the ceremony and the presentation of degrees and awards. Award winners included Gary Nagel, Eurydice Turk and Jill Youngblood who were all awarded the Kaplan Award for Legal Services. Matthew Portner won the EJD Award for Academic Excellence; Patricia A. Wilson received the Distance Education and Training Council Outstanding Graduate award; and Ruth Pearce received the Jack R. Goetz Award. The Sue Lane Award went to Sergio Jimenez.
About Concord Law School
Concord Law School is the nation's premier provider of online law degrees. Since opening its virtual doors in 1998, Concord has helped more than 1,500 graduates obtain their Juris Doctor (JD) or Executive Juris DoctorSM (EJD) degree. Concord is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council, a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
Concord Law School of Kaplan University is part of Kaplan Higher Education, which serves more than 74,000 students through more than 70 campus-based schools across the United States and abroad. Kaplan Higher Education is part of Kaplan, Inc., a leading international provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Kaplan, Inc. is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), and its largest division. For more information, visit info.concordlawschool.edu.