An Unexpected Way to REACh More Alumni

Virtual offerings allow a law school program to connect with a broader set of graduates

When it comes to a reasoned, seasoned voice that can wax poetic about the UC Berkeley network’s far-reaching benefits, Jonathan Simon ’87 is a prime candidate.

He has three Berkeley degrees, including two from the law school. He has been a Berkeley Law faculty member since 2003. And he’s the faculty representative on the Berkeley Law Alumni Association board. So when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the school’s Regional Engagement Alumni Chapters (REACh) program to recalibrate its approach, Simon was ready to help.

BRIDGE BUILDER: Professor Jonathan Simon ’87 aims to forge lasting bonds between faculty and alumni.

“Ideally, the relationship between faculty and alumni should be lifelong,” Simon says. “I’ve benefitted countless times, as have my students, by introducing alums who are leading professionals to my classes. Faculty talks at reunions and alumni meetings help grow that relationship, and in the Zoom era it’s easier than ever.”

As part of an ongoing REACh effort to expand alumni connections through virtual engagement, Simon will give a talk to members of the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley chapters on October 21 titled “Beyond the Slogan ‘Defund the Police’: Race, Public Safety, and the Future of American Criminal Justice.”

A prominent criminal justice scholar, Simon says the ongoing racial justice movement has fueled an overdue reckoning with America’s “anything but colorblind criminal legal system and a once-in-a-century chance to re-envision public safety for American cities and suburbs.” He hopes to clarify the meaning of slogans like “defund” or “abolish” the police, and to explain why racism is inextricably linked to the criminal legal system.

Created in 2018, REACh offers faculty presentations, visits with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, recent alumni gatherings, happy hours, and other events to increase networking opportunities, intellectual engagement, career development, and socializing.

Chemerinsky kicked off the new virtual REACh initiative with a Town Hall for alumni on June 11, and future events include Simon’s talk and a Los Angeles chapter trivia night on September 17.

“Our goal is to hold events of interest for alumni, and provide a place for them to connect and re-remember their deep ties to the law school,” says Noah Ickowitz ’17. “For alumni, Berkeley Law should continue to be a shared space for learning, connecting, and social justice, even if remote.”

Noah Ickowitz ’17 helped establish the first REACh chapter in Los Angeles.

A litigation associate at O’Melveny & Myers, Ickowitz helped create the Los Angeles chapter after seeing the need for alumni engagement on a local level.

“A lifelong connection to Berkeley Law and the ideals it represents starts with recent alumni,” he says. “Together, we’re a stronger community.”

While Simon and Ickowitz hope to resume in-person meetings soon, both say they appreciate seeing how virtual events make Berkeley Law more accessible to graduates across the country and the world.

—Andrew Cohen