UC Davis 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 UC Davis in 1980 and a law degree from the UC Davis 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 UC Davis 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 UC Davis School of Law, can comment on Cantil-Sakauye’s volunteer work with the King Hall Outreach Program, a UC Davis 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 UC Davis, 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 UC Davis 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 UC Davis 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 UC Davis School of Law, has taught at UC Davis since 1981 and remembers Cantil-Sakauye as a standout student. Contact: Rex Perschbacher, School of Law, 530-752-7220, rrperschbacher@ucdavis.edu.

About UC Davis

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis 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.