DETROIT (June 1, 2009) - Wayne State University Director of Student Life and Educational Outreach Ricardo M. Villarosa, '97, was recently elected to serve as a member of the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) Board of Trustees. One of only three trustees elected this year to the international board, Villarosa will serve a three-year term that began at the LSAC Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, last week.

Ricardo M. Villarosa

As a trustee, Villarosa will attend board meetings and be assigned as a trustee liaison to one of four permanent LSAC committees - the Finance and Legal Affairs Committee, the Diversity Committee, the Services and Programs Committee, or the Test Development and Research Committee. The overall mission of these committees and LSAC is to provide the highest quality admission-related services for legal educational institutions and their applicants.

Nominees, according to LSAC, were "selected from among an impressive group of persons suggested by the membership as particularly well-qualified for service." The Nominating Committee then evaluated nominees on the basis of prior service, unique skills and demonstrated interest in issues of importance to LSAC.

Villarosa has been an appointed member of the LSAC Diversity Committee since 2005. He was a member of the Academic Assistance Initiative Review Work Group and served on the 2007 LSAC Academic Assistance Training Workshop Planning Work Group. More recently, he chaired the planning committees for the LSAC Academic Assistance Training Workshops for ASP Newcomers (2008) and for Bar Support Programs (2008). He is currently chair of the 2009 Pipeline Models Conference Planning Committee.

"I have enjoyed representing Wayne Law as a member of LSAC's Diversity Committee and I look forward to the next three years on the Board of Trustees," Villarosa said. "Wayne Law and LSAC share a demonstrated commitment to legal education and the broader community of stakeholders we serve, so it is an honor and a pleasure to be a part of these two institutions."

Villarosa joined Wayne Law in 2001 as director of Supportive Services. In 2004 he developed the Wayne Law Dean's Scholars scholarship program to recruit highly credentialed candidates, and in 2006 he was named to his current position. His responsibilities include ongoing analysis and refinement of the Dean's Scholars program and developing educational outreach initiatives targeted at K-12 and early college students.

Villarosa is a past president of the Michigan Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the advisor for Wayne Law's Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. He has been involved in collaborative efforts with the American Bar Association's Presidential Advisory Council on Diversity in the Profession and the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar's Diversity Committee. Villarosa has also served as a trustee of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Foundation and as a member of the foundation's Pipeline Committee since 2008.

Villarosa, who also currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at Central Michigan University's College of Extended Learning, earned a B.S. in corporate finance, an M.B.A. in entrepreneurship and a J.D. from Wayne State University.
"Ricardo has a great deal of experience in working on projects related to diversity, technology and financial aid within higher education and in the greater community," said Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. "I applaud him on his election and thank him for representing Wayne Law on this prestigious board."

About Wayne Law
Wayne Law University Law School has educated and served the Detroit metropolitan area since its inception as Detroit City Law School in 1927. Located at 471 West Palmer Street in Detroit's re-energized historic cultural center, the Law School remains committed to student success and features modern lecture and court facilities, multi-media and distance learning classrooms, a 250-seat auditorium, and the Arthur Neef Law Library, which houses one of the nation's 40 largest legal collections. Taught by an internationally recognized and expert faculty, Wayne Law students experience a high-quality legal education via a growing array of hands-on curricular offerings, client clinics, and access to well over 100 internships with local and non-profit entities each year. Its 11,000 living alumni, who work in every state of the nation and more than a dozen foreign countries, are experts in their disciplines and include leading members of the local, national and international legal communities. For more information visit www.law.wayne.edu.