Midstaters build a case to keep law school in Carlisle

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
A Section
Midstaters build a case to keep law school in Carlisle
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
If The Dickinson School of Law stays in Carlisle, it could move just a few blocks from its home of 169 years. The school's Board of Governors expects to spend the next several months studying its options for Dickinson -- to stay in Carlisle or move to State College.

That looming decision has prompted midstate officials to begin preparing financial and development packages on local sites for a possible move, officials and industry leaders confirmed Monday and yesterday.

One of those potential sites is the borough's hospital, three blocks from the law school.

Research on local sites has been under way since a Pennsylvania State University proposal to build Dickinson a $60 million home in State College surfaced this month.

The move is being considered because the law school's campus has outdated facilities and little room to expand.

Local efforts accelerated when the law school board announced on Saturday that it would keep open the possibility of expanding in Carlisle.

Local leaders need to know: "What kind of package does Dickinson need to stay in Carlisle" said Dave Black, president of the Capital Region Economic Development Corporation.

"We think there are some options here that could be developed. I'd like the law school ... to ask for some help," said Christopher Gulotta, executive director of the Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority.

"We have some substantive proposals that we can bring to the table," he said.

LeRoy Zimmerman, Dickinson board chairman, said he will listen to local proposals. His first step will be to select board committees to contact student, alumni, faculty and community groups to gauge interest in staying in Carlisle or moving.

"It appears that the numbers seem to be building to keep the law school in south central Pennsylvania," Cumberland County Commissioner Rick Rovegno said. "We hope that a 169-year tradition won't be cast out. The opportunities [for law students] in this area cannot be replicated in State College."

Liz Syer, a third-year Dickinson student, said the busy Penn State setting would interfere with the hours law students must spend in serious study.

She said she fears Dickinson professors would be less accessible and that opportunities for internships would drop dramatically if Dickinson moved north.

If the school grows in Carlisle, it may expand its existing buildings, refurbish the hospital or another building, or construct a school on an undeveloped site.

Gulotta declined to reveal the locations he is studying.

But Black told Penn State President Graham Spanier that CREDC will work with the redevelopment authority and Carlisle Borough to develop proposals that could feed federal or state funds into such projects.

This fall, CREDC helped Dickinson College put together a $1 million deal to buy the former Reeves-Hoffman crystal processing plant next to its campus. Black helped the college -- which abuts but is not affiliated with the law school -- to find state money to clean up toxins and prepare the plant for renovation.

Law school officials said last week that there was preliminary talk of converting Carlisle's hospital building into classrooms when the hospital moves to South Middleton Twp. in 2006.

Borough Council President Steve Fishman said leaders are waiting for Dickinson to make the next move.

"We believe it has certainly been made clear to them that we have a vested interest in helping them do whatever is necessary to move the law school forward, both in facilities and academic standing," Fishman said.

ELIZABETH GIBSON: 249-2006 or egibson@patriot- news.com



PHOTO; DAN GLEITER; Caption: If The Dickinson School of Law stays in Carlisle, it may expand its existing buildings, refurbish Carlisle Hospital or another building, or build a school on an undeveloped site.

Move Would be Death of Dick Law

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Letters
Beginning of end?
As a 1999 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law, I have strong feelings about the prospect of the law school being relocated to Penn State's main campus. In 1996, I left my home in Kentucky with all of my worldly possessions in my Toyota Corolla to begin the journey of acquiring a legal education.

I decided to attend Dickinson Law because of the friendly atmosphere and legal tradition that produced fine lawyers, legislators and other public servants.

In 1997, when the Penn State merger was first announced, many students were concerned that the Dickinson Law tradition would be obliterated by the Penn State machine.

At that time, we were promised that the school would always remain in Carlisle.

If the law school leaves Carlisle, I will invite all students, alumni and members of the community to a memorial service marking the untimely death of a great institution with a rich history.

SEAN A. FIELDS, ESQ.
Mechanicsburg

Let's Slow Things Down Here!

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Editorial
WISE TO WAIT ; Through deferral, law school's best options can be considered
Of the Patriot-News
A decision on whether and where to move the campus of the Dickinson School of Law wisely has been deferred by the school's board of governors until the issue can be explored more deeply. And what will be found, we believe, is that as compelling a case as can be made for moving the law school to brand-new quarters on Penn State's University Park campus, the advantages of staying put in the Capital Region will prevail.

Everyone agrees that the law school, which merged with the university in 1997, is in dire need of new facilities, having outgrown historic Trickett Hall in both enrollment and classroom technology.

And the university points out that law students today want to spend some of their time studying in other disciplines, such as business and environmental sciences, related to the type of law they plan to practice. Students in those other disciplines also might elect to take law courses.

Yet, moving the law school to University Park would deprive law students of the access they now enjoy to myriad local, state and federal courts, as well as the state Capitol, all within a half- hour's drive of the Carlisle campus.

Additionally, while University Park offers the widest range of graduate studies, Penn State maintains several graduate degree programs in the Capital Region, at Penn State Harrisburg and the College of Medicine at Hershey. Better coordination of interrelated studies involving these three institutions is a low-cost solution to one of the law school's key shortcomings as identified by the university.

The leak of a confidential memo outlining the proposed move triggered a civic and political firestorm that almost certainly would have doomed the idea had the board of governors voted during their meeting over the weekend. But it's difficult to believe, in any event, that the governors would have wanted to make such a momentous decision in the law school's 169-year history on the basis of so little information and consideration.

More facts, more weighing of the options and especially more thought about the nature of the legal education Dickinson should offer are indispensable to a decision that will chart a course for the institution for many decades to come. A key question for us is what effect growing enrollment, as has occurred since Penn State absorbed the law school, has on the effort to restore its academic and legal reputation, which are said to have declined recently.

We urge the governors to make this six-month to year-long investigation as public as possible, for the stakeholders include many more people than those with direct ties to Dickinson Law.

And they need to look outside the school for factors that bear on a good legal education: For example, plans for a judicial center to be built in the Capitol Complex to bring all three levels of state appellate courts under one roof. Abandoning the close proximity of the Carlisle campus and the capital would be a terrible mistake. If the law school were already in University Park, surely it would be trying to figure out some way to establish a presence in Harrisburg.

The good news is that Dickinson School of Law already has such connections. And with much thought, imagination and a helpful Penn State administration, the law school can position itself to have a distinguished future without sacrificing those virtues that have served it well for so long.

Local Speaks Up - November 25, 2003

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Letters
Workable solutions exist in Carlisle
Carlisle is abuzz with impassioned discussion about the fate of Dickinson School of Law. As one second-year student said to me, "Your property values and these businesses are not my responsibility." Aye, there's the rub. When is a town responsible for an institution, and when is an institution responsible for a town, if not after 169 years?

The same student had strong opinions about the fiduciary responsibility of Dickinson Law's board to its students and the school. But what does that responsibility entail? Forcing the school into the "top tier" at the expense of central Pennsylvania's residents? Bankrupting a town of over 18,000 inhabitants to enhance what many believe is already a stellar reputation? Teaching law students to uphold the law while overlooking what is just and right?

Ironically, Penn State's Web site discloses its three-part mission based on its land-grant tradition of, "teaching, research and public service. This mission continues to guide the university in all that it does for Pennsylvania, the nation, and humankind." Let us hope that as the Dickinson Law board addresses Penn State's proposal, they speak out about the workable solutions that exist right here in the Harrisburg area, and remind the university of its duty to the state, not just to State College.

 DOROTHY LAINCZ
Carlisle

Languishing Reputation

Pennsylvania Law Weekly Volume XXVI, Number 47 Copyright 2003 by American Lawyer Media, ALM LLC
November 24, 2003
News in Brief
DEAN RECOMMENDS MOVING LAW SCHOOL
Carlisle - The dean of Penn State University's law school is recommending that its governing board move the school to State College within five years, citing a need to expand and concerns about its "languishing reputation," a newspaper reported Nov. 12. 

The Sentinel of Carlisle based its report on a confidential memo written by Dickinson School of Law Dean Phil McConnaughay in preparation for a meeting of the school's board of governors on Nov. 21 and 22.
The law school, which merged with Penn State in 2000, received a third-tier ranking in an annual survey of colleges and graduate schools compiled by U.S. News & World Report. 

The school's "languishing reputation" prompted alumni from one law firm to inform the dean that the firm would no longer hire any Dickinson graduates "because of our low rank," McConnaughay wrote. 

The memo also mentioned that university officials have had difficulty raising enough money to finance an expansion at the existing Carlisle campus. A six-year campaign to raise $16 million "yielded only $9 million in cash," according to McConnaughay, who said he did not want to finance the expansion by increasing tuition, which is currently $24,300 a year. 

The existing campus lacks adequate classrooms, faculty offices, library space, student areas, courtrooms, an auditorium and electrical power to support basic programs and technology, he said. 

The law school would relocate to Penn State's main campus by the fall of 2008 if the proposal is approved. The new facility is expected to cost more than $60 million, but the university is prepared to pick up the cost if a design is completed within a year, McConnaughay's memo said. 

Carlisle Borough Council President Steve Fishman said he was concerned about how a possible law school move would affect local businesses and community organizations. Fishman said the borough and Dickinson College have jointly offered to help the school so that it can remain in Carlisle. 

"The financial impact is going to be devastating," Fishman said. 

McConnaughay responded to the newspaper's report by issuing a statement that said he could not comment on the memo until after university officials and the board considered it and made a decision. LeRoy S. Zimmerman, chairman of the board of trustees, declined to comment on the memo. 

"We must look at all options that are presented to us," Zimmerman said. 

Founded in 1834, Dickinson is Pennsylvania's oldest law school. It was initially a department of Dickinson College, a private, liberal arts college in Carlisle, but became independent from the college in 1890.

Law school exploring options

Centre Daily Times (c) Copyright 2003, Centre Daily Times. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, November 23, 2003
A
Law school exploring options
By Adam Smeltz asmeltz@centredaily.com
CARLISLE Two days after state legislators criticized a possible relocation of the Dickinson School of Law, a school official said he interpreted the remarks as an offer to help map out Dickinson's future.

"And we welcome it," said LeRoy S. Zimmerman, chairman of Dickinson's board of governors, speaking after a board meeting Saturday.

He said he has "every reason to believe (Gov. Ed Rendell) will make his offices available to help us," including with fund-raising efforts, as Dickinson makes plans to expand.

The 169-year-old law school, part of Penn State since a merger in 2000, may eventually move from Carlisle to the State College area, depending on the outcome of expansion discussions that began this weekend.

Officials said there is no deadline for a decision.

Legislators already have sounded off about the suggested move to University Park, which Dickinson Dean Philip McConnaughay recently recommended in a confidential memo. Rendell and nine state lawmakers wrote in a letter Thursday that the university apparently had not considered the benefits of keeping Dickinson in Carlisle.

Unlike some state officials, Zimmerman said he did not perceive the letter as a threat to Penn State appropriations.

He and almost all 30 members of the board of governors began their first talks about Dickinson's new facilities Friday night and Saturday in Carlisle. They'll next meet sometime in January, Zimmerman said.

In the meantime, McConnaughay said, school officials "will almost immediately" begin to consult with students, faculty, alumni and Carlisle residents in committee-led discussions.

At hand are three options for growth: to expand at the current site, which features the historic Trickett Hall; to add facilities in the Carlisle area; or to erect an entirely new facility near State College.

Zimmerman, a former state attorney general and Dickinson alumnus, said school officials have received extensive correspondence from residents who don't want to see the school move.

"This is a great institution. It always has (been), and it always will (be)," he said. He said the board of governors has "a precious mission to protect," and will need to "energize" alumni and the business community to generate funds for expansion.

"At the end of the day, the alumni need to know about this. The community needs to know about this," Zimmerman said. "It's about money."

Dickinson law school, which Penn State says receives no state funding, has a traditionally strong performance record. And Spanier has said that a new location for Dickinson and its 650 students "was never contemplated when we merged."

But recently published rankings have Dickinson rated as a third-tier law school. Zimmerman emphasized Saturday that the school "has to stay competitive."

Part of its appeal, said second-year student Matt Miller, is its intimate environment and individualized attention.

"If it were to move," Miller said, "I'd like that to stay the same."

Maybe We'll Go, Maybe We Won't. PSU grad student calls PSU a "bully"

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Sunday, November 23, 2003
A Section
Dickinson governors to weigh finances ; Board does not reject move to State College
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
The Dickinson School of Law's board of governors has not ruled out a proposal to move the school to University Park. Members said it will be months before they decide whether to move the school to the main campus of parent institution Penn State University in State College or keep it in Carlisle. That decision will be based on finances as well as the opinions of people inside and outside of the law school.

The board plans to immediately begin contacting alumni, students, faculty and community members for their ideas on the best location for a facility to replace the outdated Trickett Hall, members said.

"We do confront some serious constraints in our facility. We need a new and expanded facility to serve our students," law school Dean Philip McConnaughay said yesterday at the end of a two-day board meeting in Carlisle.

The board will also search for funding. "We have a challenge ahead ... to get the [financial] support we need for the facility we need," McConnaughay said.

The Penn State Board of Trustees would have to approve any university funds spent on a law school, university President Graham Spanier said Friday. The law school merged with Penn State in 2000.

The Dickinson board will meet again in January, and a building plan will be adopted within a year, said board Chairman LeRoy S. Zimmerman. The options are: move to the Penn State main campus, expand at its Carlisle location or replace Trickett Hall with a Carlisle-area facility.

?I would personally hope that we're at that point in six months. The big problem is going to be the funding to do what we need to do,?? said board member G. Thomas Miller.

A local fund drive will be followed by a regional effort, relying on Penn State resources, to contact alumni and seek their financial support for a new law school.

"We need to energize our alumni," Zimmerman said.

This weekend was the first time the board met to talk about the proposal to move the law school. Former Gov. Tom Ridge, a board member and alumnus of the law school, attended the meeting yesterday morning. The weekend meetings were preceded by the leaking of the McConnaughay memo by an unknown board member last week.

The board discussed the leak during its weekend talks in Dickinson's Cafe Per Se, several board members said.

Board member Hubert Gilroy said after the meeting yesterday that the leak showed a lack of confidence in the board. He said the board would have carefully studied the University Park proposal regardless of an advanced public airing.

Gov. Ed Rendell, state lawmakers and local political, business and community leaders and some students have called into question the motives of Penn State officials in the proposal.

John Cosgrove, a doctoral student at Penn State, said yesterday that PSU's motives should be examined.
"Quite frankly, PSU is a bully, and they've been on an aggressive building and expansion campaign under the leadership of Graham Spanier. Older buildings are going wanting ... for repair and renovation, while PSU sinks ever more money into building new ones," he said.

In the memo, McConnaughay said that the school needs to expand. He also has concerns about the law school's "languishing reputation" that had to do, in part, with Dickinson receiving a third-tier ranking in the annual survey of colleges and graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report. The law school's enrollment has risen from 530 in 1998 to 646 this school year.

The law school has also failed to raise enough money to expand in Carlisle. A six-year campaign to raise $16 million "yielded only $9 million in cash," he wrote in his memo.

McConnaughay said he did not want to increase tuition to pay for the expansion.

Tuition has risen nearly $10,000 since 1999.

The memo stated that Penn State was prepared to pay for a $60 million facility for Dickinson at University Park as long as a design was completed within a year.

McConnaughay has dodged questions about the proposal, saying he would discuss details about a move after the board met. Yesterday, he refused to provide details on the proposal.

He said public meetings would be held seeking community input in deciding the school's future.

"We plan to be completely transparent in terms of our planning and objectives,"

 McConnaughay said. ELIZABETH GIBSON: 249-2006 or egibson@patriot-news.com INFOBOX:

THE SCHOOL *Number of students: 646 *Graduates include five governors, three U.S. senators, Homeland Defense Secretary Tom Ridge, and more than 100 state, federal and county judges *Tuition is about $60,000 for the three-year program *Employs about 50 faculty and 30 adjunct professors *Founded in 1834. Oldest law school in Pennsylvania; fifth oldest in the nation *Merged with Penn State in 2000

THE DICKINSON SCHOOL OF LAW BOARD OF GOVERNORS *LeRoy S. Zimmerman, Harrisburg, former state attorney general and chairman of the board of governors *Helen S. Balick, Wilmington, Del., retired judge *Zygmunt R. Bialkowski Jr., Scranton, lawyer, Morgolis Edelstein *Ward A. Bower, Newton Square, lawyer, Altman Weil Inc. *William R. Caroselli, Pittsburgh, lawyer, Caroselli, Beachler, McTierran & Conboy *J. Michael Eakin, Harrisburg, state Supreme Court judge * Anthony C. Falvello, Sugarloaf, lawyer, The Falvello Law Firm *Kathleen P. Galop, Madison, N.J., lawyer, Preservation Possibilities *Hubert X. Gilroy, Carlisle, lawyer, Broujos & Gilroy, P.C. *M. Fletcher Gornall, Erie, retired lawyer *Joseph M. Harenza, Reading, lawyer, Stevens & Lee, P.C. *Shaun D. Henry, lawyer, McNees Wallace & Nurick Harrisburg *Jan R. Jurden, Wilmington, Del., Delaware Superior Court judge *Lewis Katz, Cherry Hill, N.J., lawyer, Katz Ettin Levine Kurzweil & Weber, P.C. *Edwin L. Klett, Pittsburgh, lawyer, Klett, Lieber, Rooney & Schorling *Dr. Sidney D. Kline Jr., Reading, lawyer, Stevens & Lee, P.C. *Jason P. Kutulakis, Carlisle, lawyer, Abom & Kutulakis * Joan Dawley Maher, Carlisle, retired lawyer *James G. McLean, Pittsburgh, lawyer, Manion, McDonough & Lucas, P.C. *G. Thomas Miller, Harrisburg, lawyer, Miller & Miller *Leslie Anne Miller, Harrisburg, lawyer, officer of General Counsel *H. Laddie Montague Jr., Philadelphia, lawyer, Berger & Montague * Michelle Moore, Atlanta, lawyer, Jones Day *Joseph Nadel, San Francisco, lawyer, Berger, Nadel & Vannelli, P.C. *Christylee Peck, Harrisburg, lawyer, Rhoads & Sinon, LLP *Arthur L. Piccone, Wilkes-Barre, lawyer, Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn, P.C. *Sylvia H. Rambo, Harrisburg, U.S. District judge *Tom Ridge, Washington, D.C., federal Homeland Security director *Dale F. Shugart Jr., Carlisle, lawyer, Shugart Law Office *Donald C. Smaltz, Torrence, Calif., lawyer, Greenberg, Fields & Whitcomb, LLP *J. Rodman Steele Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla., lawyer, Ackerman & Senterfitt *Tracy L. Steele, Philadelphia, lawyer, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP *Donald C. Taylor, Wilmington, Del., lawyer, Cooch & Taylor *Nathan H. Waters Jr., Harrisburg, solicitor/chief legal officer, Harrisburg School District *Sandor Yelen, Wilkes-Barre, lawyer, Yelen Law Office

Politics, politics.

Centre Daily Times (c) Copyright 2003, Centre Daily Times. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, November 22, 2003
A
Governor enters law school fray
By Marc Levy The Associated Press
HARRISBURG Gov. Ed Rendell and lawmakers sounded off over a proposal to move Penn State's law school from its home of 169 years in Carlisle to the university's main campus, while the law school's chairman said that no decision is imminent.

The Dickinson School of Law's board of governors met Friday night and was scheduled to meet again today to discuss ideas of other locations to which the school could move, said the chairman, LeRoy S. Zimmerman.

"No decisions were made tonight, nor are any decisions anticipated throughout this weekend," Spanier said late Friday after the meeting, which was closed to the public. "The board agreed that we would establish a process to review all of the options concerning facilities and locations."

"We have an opportunity as the board of governors to talk about all of these issues that relate to these facilities and space and location and we're going to do that," Zimmerman said in a telephone interview.

No vote will be taken during the two days of closed meetings, he said.

"Unfortunately, there has been the erroneous impression that this decision had been made and it's a done deal," Zimmerman said. "That's not correct."

At some point, he said, the board hopes to involve the school's alumni, faculty and community in the decision. Options include moving to other sites in Carlisle, Zimmerman said.

He spoke after a Commonwealth Court hearing in which Judge Renee L. Cohn rejected a petition by The Sentinel of Carlisle and The Patriot-News of Harrisburg to open the board meeting to the public.

Since the possibility of the move came out a week ago, it has drawn much attention.

In a joint letter to Spanier, Gov. Ed Rendell and nine central Pennsylvania state lawmakers wrote that it does not appear that the university has considered the benefits, financial or otherwise, of keeping the school where it is.

"This proposal, and the threat it contains, has served as a call to arms across the community at large, and throughout the political leadership and the legal community in the area," they wrote in the letter Thursday.

With regard to the letter from Rendell, Spanier said, "I look forward to opportunities to speak with the governor," adding that he hopes that Rendell will be supportive of the process to determine the school's future.

Spanier also said that should the Dickinson board decide to relocate and require Penn State funds to do so, the university's board of trustees would need to approve the expenditure.

The Sentinel first reported last week that the law school's dean recommended that the board move the school to State College within five years, citing a need to expand and concerns about its "languishing reputation."

The newspaper cited a confidential memo written by the dean, Phil McConnaughay, in preparation for the board meeting.

One of the board members leaked the McConnaughay memo to the media.

An unhappy Zimmerman said, "The board (of governors) should be the first body to discuss this. Unfortunately, we were pre-empted on that."

Spanier has said he is prepared to raise $60 million to build a facility in State College for the school. The existing campus lacks adequate classrooms, faculty offices, library space, student areas, courtrooms, an auditorium and electrical power to support basic programs and technology, McConnaughay said.

Zimmerman indicated a move to State College would create an opportunity for enhancing academics and to integrate the law school into the university.

Carlisle Mayor Kirk Wilson, who noted that the school provides prestige and jobs to the town, said he believed that Spanier would likely take the letter into consideration since some of the university's money comes from the state.

"I would think that would suggest to the president and to anyone who is wise in the ways of the Legislature that we really don't want to make these people too mad at us because our continued existence relies on a good relationship with the General Assembly and the governor," Wilson said.

The letter, which was issued by the office of Sen. Harold F. Mowery, R-Cumberland, prompted a scathing response from Sen. Jake Corman, R-Spring Township, whose district includes Penn State's main campus. The school, Corman said, has weathered budget cuts in good faith while the state pares spending to fit lagging revenues.

"In return, it deserves the respect to make difficult decisions affecting the university without the cloud of public pressure and further reductions in appropriations from government officials," Corman wrote.

Founded in 1834, Dickinson is Pennsylvania's oldest law school and the fifth-oldest in the United States, according to the school. The law school, which has about 650 students, merged with Penn State in 2000.

No Decision is Better than a Bad Decision

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Saturday, November 22, 2003
A Section
Spanier: Law school decision not at hand
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
The future home of The Dickinson School of Law won't be decided this weekend. Penn State University President Graham Spanier made that clear after spending three hours with Dickinson's board of governors in historic Trickett Hall.

As university police stood guard, 30 members of the 37-person board met for the first of two closed-door meetings to weigh a Penn State proposal to build a $60 million facility in State College and move the law school there. Officials say the Carlisle campus is cramped and facilities are outmoded.

Spanier said the board won't vote on the proposal during the weekend meetings and it was unclear how soon a vote could take place.

He said board members asked him how discussions about a move got started. They discussed setting guidelines that would be followed in the case of further talks on moving the school out of Carlisle, he said.

Some board members have apparently made up their minds about Dickinson leaving Carlisle.

"I have a perception that a substantial number of the board members will be speaking in opposition to moving the law school out of the Carlisle area," said board member G. Thomas Miller before the meeting, adding he does not support a move.

There has also been pressure from state and local leaders to dismiss the plan.

Gov. Ed Rendell and state lawmakers on Thursday signed a letter written by Sen. Hal Mowery, R-Cumberland, that urged Spanier to keep the school in Carlisle. State Rep. Jerry Nailor, R-Mechanicsburg, who signed, said he got many positive comments.

However, Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre County, yesterday wrote Rendell saying the governor and legislators don't know what's best for the law school, and their letter derailed a fair debate over the school's future.

"The letter, in which you demand a clear statement from [Spanier] supporting the presence of the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, stinks of a threat, veiled or otherwise to Penn State's appropriations," Corman wrote.

Nailor said Corman is looking out for his constituents. PSU is in Centre County.

Spanier said last night that Rendell will be involved in a final decision on the law school.

Those fighting to keep Dickinson in Carlisle cite negative economic, educational and cultural effects if the school leaves.

Details about the move proposal were laid out in a confidential memo that law school Dean Philip McConnaughay sent the board. The memo was leaked to the press last week. Law school administrators said details of the proposal should not have been made public until the board could consider them.

However, Mowery said the leak has given the midstate a chance to fight the idea. Otherwise, a move ?could have been made with no input,?? he said.

Miller said alumni and other lawyers associated with Dickinson have called the board to say they oppose the move. He said the board will begin candid discussion on the idea at today's meeting.

Yesterday, a judge ruled against a request by The Patriot-News to open the board's talks.

In an essay posted on the law school's Web site ( www.dsl.psu.edu/ about/mergeressay.pdf), McConnaughay addresses the advantages of housing a law school at a research university. He said the setting allows students to earn joint degrees and be exposed to experts in other fields.

He said major trends in law require graduates to have diverse experiences and understand the interaction between law and science.

ELIZABETH GIBSON: 249-2006 or egibson@patriot-news.com INFOBOX:

THE SCHOOL *Number of students: 650 *Graduates include five governors, three U.S. senators, Homeland Defense Secretary Tom Ridge, and more than 100 state, federal and county judges *Employs about 50 faculty and 30 adjunct professors *Founded in 1834. Oldest law school in Pennsylvania *Merged with Penn State in 2000

Now the Courts Get Into the Act

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Saturday, November 22, 2003
Local/State
Ruling backs law-school board's closed meetings
REGGIE SHEFFIELD Of The Patriot-News
Calling it a "difficult case," a Commonwealth Court judge ruled yesterday that the board of governors of The Dickinson School of Law may continue to meet in private, despite claims the closed-door sessions violate the state's open-meeting laws. Commonwealth Court Judge Renee L. Cohn issued her ruling yesterday after a morning filled with arguments from attorneys representing the school, the board of directors, The Patriot-News and The Carlisle Sentinel. Both newspapers have objected to the closed-door sessions.

In announcing her ruling, Cohn, a 1978 Penn State graduate, expressed discomfort with unanswered questions regarding the consequences if she ordered the meetings opened.

Cohn also declined to rule on whether the law school's board of directors qualify as a state agency under the terms of the state's Sunshine Law.

Attorneys for both papers said they would not appeal the decision.

Cohn's husband, Senate President Pro Tem Robert C. Jubelirer, R- Blair, was one of several state legislators who joined Gov. Ed Rendell this week in demanding that Penn State President Graham Spanier publicly state his support for keeping the school in Carlisle.

Earlier this month, information became public that indicated law school officials are considering a move from Carlisle to University Park.

LeRoy Zimmerman, chairman of the law school board, stressed yesterday that he wanted the meeting to remain closed to give board members some give-and-take time with Spanier.

Board members have not heard the specifics of a Penn State offer to build a $60 million campus in State College, and the board is far from making a decision, Zimmerman said.

"As the chairman of the board, I am saying that this is not a done deal," Zimmerman said yesterday.

"It hasn't even been decided that there is a vote," he added.

One board member, G. Thomas Miller, testified on behalf of the newspapers yesterday, but was stopped by Cohn before he could express his opinion on the proposed move.

Zimmerman, who was elected chairman of the board just three weeks ago, said he looks forward to later public meetings.

"I would hope that there would be meetings involving the public because they're important," said Zimmerman, a former state attorney general.

What Relocation? - November 21, 2003

Centre Daily Times (c) Copyright 2003, Centre Daily Times. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, November 21, 2003

Dickinson board looks into relocation choices
By Gwenn Miller gmiller3@centredaily.com
The Dickinson School of Law's board of governors will take the first steps today and Saturday to determine whether the school will move to State College or explore other options. The board will meet to discuss the future of the school, which officials have said has inadequate facilities and no room to expand its current location.

News of Dickinson's possible move from Carlisle to State College surfaced last week after a confidential memorandum from law school Dean Philip McConnaughay was leaked to The Sentinel of Carlisle. The memo outlined suggestions to address the concerns about the school's facilities, one being the possibility of moving the school to Penn State's University Park campus.

A statement released Tuesday by Dickinson said newly elected board of governors Chairman LeRoy S. Zimmerman has sent a notice to board members urging them to attend the meeting concerning the law school's facilities need and location.

"Chairman Zimmerman recommended to the board that no vote be taken at the meeting," the statement reads.

The meeting will be closed to the media and the public. The Sentinel is seeking a court order to open the meeting. A hearing was scheduled for Friday morning on the request, according to Niles Benn, the newspaper's attorney.

If the newspaper's request cannot be granted immediately, it is alternatively seeking an injunction that would prevent the meeting from taking place until a ruling is made, Benn said.

According to the statement, the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act does not apply to meetings of the law school's board of governors. The release stated that the meeting will be closed in order to "facilitate uninhibited discussion amongst board members."

Penn State President Graham Spanier and Provost and Vice President Rodney Erickson will attend the meeting, according to a university press release. Spanier said in the release that Friday's meeting is intended to be the first step in the discussion about future of law school, which merged with Penn State in 2000.

"A different location for the law school was never contemplated when we merged," Spanier said.

Spanier said university officials have not had any discussions with any members of the board of governors since McConnaughay's memo was prepared. It would be premature to debate the issue of moving the school, Spanier said.

Any decision about the law school's future will be determined by the board of governors and then ratified by Penn State's board of trustees.

PA Governor Gets Into the Act.

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Friday, November 21, 2003
A Section
Rendell tries to save law school ; Lawmakers join in pushing Spanier to back Carlisle site
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of The Patriot-News
The board of The Dickinson School of Law held preliminary discussions last month about expanding the school in Carlisle. But Gov. Ed Rendell says insufficient consideration has been given to the potential for that expansion.I'm feeling very good about it. I don't think [the move is] going to happen.State Rep. Jerry Nailor, R-Mechanicsburg Gov. Ed Rendell and state lawmakers said yesterday that talk of moving The Dickinson School of Law has injured the school's reputation and threatens to damage Pennsylvania State University's name.

In a letter signed by Rendell, they demanded that Penn State President Graham Spanier publicly state his support for keeping the law school in Carlisle instead of building a new home in University Park for a proposed $60 million.

"Of the many substantial and legitimate concerns that have surfaced over the past week, the biggest concern is that it does not appear sufficient consideration has been given to the potential for improving and expanding the current site or to the cost effectiveness of doing so," the letter stated.

Also signing the letter were: state Sens. Hal Mowery, R- Cumberland; Senate President Pro Tem Robert C. Jubelirer, R-Blair; Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin; Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Thompson, R-Chester; and state Reps. William Gabig, R- Carlisle, Jerry Nailor, R-Mechanicsburg, Bruce Smith, R-Dillsburg, Patricia Vance, R-Silver Spring Twp., and Jeffrey Coy, D-Shippensburg.

Mowery, Vance and Nailor met with Spanier and two other university administrators Saturday about the proposed move, Nailor said last night.

"I'm feeling very good about it. I don't think [the move is] going to happen," he said.

Spanier said last night that he hadn't seen the letter and wouldn't respond to Rendell's charges until he had a chance to talk with the governor and meet with the law school's board of governors tonight. The board is to meet again tomorrow on the proposal.

"As a Republican, I have to say I actually agree with Governor Rendell," said Robert Michaels, a second-year law student who is president of the student Republican Council.

"There's a lot of people around here absolutely sickened about this," he said.

Carlisle Mayor Kirk Wilson said signatures from lawmakers who have a say in Penn State funding could sway Spanier.

"The president by now is smart enough to understand that to ignore their request places future funding for the university in question," Wilson said.

LeRoy Zimmerman, chairman of the law school board, said meetings today and tomorrow on the proposed move would be closed, but a Commonwealth Court hearing today may open the proceedings to the public. The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle requested the hearing, saying a closed meeting would violate the state's open- records law.

Law school Dean Philip McConnaughay said yesterday that he had seen Rendell's letter, but he refused to elaborate on the proposal to move the school.

"I am committed ... to keeping this law school as great as it has always been and helping it to be as great as it can be, whether here in Carlisle or in another location," he said.

He cited a recent leap in Dickinson's admissions and its success at adding diversity to its staff and student body as signs that the school is "experiencing a renewal in stature."

The law school board held preliminary discussions last month about expanding the school in Carlisle. But Rendell stated in his letter that insufficient consideration has been given to the potential for a local expansion.

"I don't see how [moving] could be our last option. I'm glad that the governor feels the same way," Michaels said.

"I am confident that after we have an opportunity to sit down with the administration of the law school that we can find a way to not just keep the law school in Carlisle but to meet the objectives for improvement of the facility," Borough Council President Steve Fishman said. "I firmly believe we can keep them there and achieve that objective if we work together."

 Staff writer Dan Miller contributed to this report.

Penn State President to lie some more to the DSL board

Centre Daily Times (c) Copyright 2003, Centre Daily Times. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
SPANIER TO MEET WITH LAW SCHOOL BOARD
Penn State President Graham Spanier and Executive Vice President and Provost Rodney Erickson plan to meet with the Board of Governors of the Dickinson School of Law to discuss the future of the institution. If the law school's Board of Governors decides that the institution should be relocated to the University Park campus, it would be costly.

To make the move, Penn State would need to construct a new building for the school, which could cost as much as $60 million.

The move wouldn't be uncommon among all law schools that are ranked high nationally.

Any decision to move the law school rests with the law school's Board of Governors. The board has not yet discussed the matter. If they approved the move, Penn State's Board of Trustees would also have to approve it.

WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARDMEMBER TO VISIT PSU Fred Dedrick, executive director of the Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board, will visit the University today as part of Pennsylvania Health Careers Awareness Week.

The statewide event is aimed at encouraging Pennsylvanians, especially men and women 18 to 35, to consider a career in health care.

Dedrick is visiting to meet with faculty and staff to learn about the University's health-related research, outreach, workforce education and development policy research and health education programs, including continuing education.

Current and prospective students and community members are invited to attend the open house, which will be held from noon to 6 p.m. in the Living Center, 110 Henderson Building.

Struggle to Control the Law School Board Begins

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
A Section
Law school governors to meet on PSU offer ; Decision about move is up to them, Spanier says
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of The Patriot-News
The president of Pennsylvania State University is prepared to raise $60 million to build a facility for The Dickinson School of Law in State College. The law school's board of governors is poised to consider the proposal at this weekend's closed-door meeting in Carlisle.

Penn State President Graham Spanier said yesterday that he has discussed the possibility with law school Dean Philip McConnaughay and university Provost Rodney A. Erickson. School officials said the Carlisle campus is saddled with overcrowded, outmoded facilities.

Spanier, who plans to attend the meetings scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday, said the decision to move the school from Carlisle rests entirely with the board. He said Penn State officials have had no further discussions about the issue.

"It would be premature to debate the pros and cons," Spanier said.

Law school board Chairman LeRoy S. Zimmerman, a former state attorney general, said discussion of what has been a wrenching proposal for the local community will take place behind closed doors.

"I think that's wise policy in order to facilitate discussion among board members," said board member Hubert X. Gilroy.

Gilroy declined to speculate on how many members of the 37- person board would endorse a move. Many live in the Carlisle area, where the proposal is drawing vocal opposition from community and business leaders as well as law students and alumni.

Yesterday, the president of Dickinson College -- which is not affiliated with the law school -- and leaders of community and business organizations informed the board that they want to be consulted before the law school's fate is decided.

"We are confident that an acceptable strategy to keep The Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle can be developed that will creatively and adequately accommodate the school's future physical ... needs," they stated in a letter.

William Bellinger, a Dickinson College economics professor, estimated the community would lose 227 jobs and about $20 million in net community spending if the law school left.

Of the board members contacted this week by The Patriot-News, only G. Thomas Miller was willing to say how he is likely to vote. Miller, for whom the law school's public advocacy center is named, said he is opposed to moving the school.

"If we can find some way to solve the expansion of facilities, that must happen. I'd like to see that it stays in Carlisle," Miller said. "I plan to do everything I can to see that that happens."

Carlisle attorney Jason P. Kutulakis said he is keeping an open mind going into the meetings.

"I'm anxious to hear the actual facts of what's really going on and to gather as much information as possible about whether it's feasible to keep it in Carlisle or not," Kutulakis said yesterday.

Harrisburg attorney Christylee Peck said she is "taking it very seriously and looking forward to the meeting this weekend so we can come to a resolution."

The 1997 merger of the law school with Penn State drew vehement opposition at the time from many who feared that one of the nation's oldest independent law schools would be swallowed by the Nittany giant.
"A different location for the law school was never contemplated when we merged," Spanier said.

He said Penn State asked McConnaughay this summer to investigate options for expanding the Carlisle law school to address crowded classes and outdated facilities.

Last month, a consultant presented to the law school board four sketches for an expanded school off South College Street. But a few weeks later, after Spanier told McConnaughay the university could build a law school at University Park, the dean drafted a proposal for the board.

Zimmerman has urged the board not to make a hasty decision on whether to move the school to State College.

"We must look at all the options for the future," he said.

It Always Comes Down to Money

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Local/State
Officials question proposed law school move ; Rendell doubts state will grant money for new building
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
Gov. Ed Rendell said a proposal to move The Dickinson School of Law to State College has him stumped. Speaking at a press conference yesterday at the Capitol, Rendell said it was unlikely the state would put up any money for a new building or for moving Dickinson.

And he wondered why a university with a medical school in Hershey would object to having a law school in Carlisle.

Rendell is not alone.

Few insiders were privy to discussions that led the law school dean to urge the board of governors to consider a Penn State University offer to build a $60 million facility for Dickinson in State College.

Penn State trustees first learned of the proposal at their meeting last week, said Robert M. Frey, trustee emeritus.

?They were as much in the dark as anybody,?? he said.

Penn State officials said only that the university, which merged with Dickinson in 1997, has room for the school in State College. Law school Dean Philip McConnaughay declined to elaborate on the proposal.

The law school board expects to consider it during Friday and Saturday meetings in Carlisle.

The Legislature holds strategic levers in a fight to keep Dickinson in Carlisle.

They range from the $306 million annual appropriation to Penn State's operating budget to allocations for new construction.

Area lawmakers said they would focus on finding a way to permit the school to upgrade existing facilities.

That's what law school board members said they talked about at their October meeting.

Frey, who is also an emeritus member of the law school board, said a consultant provided four concepts for redeveloping the existing school site.

All the plans would be hampered by adjacent development.

Frey said the consultant had not been asked to draw up plans for other potential Carlisle sites, including the soon-to-be vacant hospital, three blocks from the law school.

Frey said the board was not asked to discuss an offer made by Dickinson College President Bill Durden to accommodate crowded law classes at the college, which is next to but not affiliated with the law school.

Instead, the board has been asked to weigh abandoning Carlisle -- the law school's home for nearly 170 years. No move would take place without the board's approval.

?I'm inclined to think that, at [Dickinson's] end, it's mostly, if not entirely, the dean's notion. To what extent people at Penn State ... are urging it or encouraging it, I don't know,?? Frey said.

Law school supporters and alumni are urging the board to kill the proposal.

?The alumni have been strongly opposed,?? said Stephen Hogg, president of the Cumberland Valley chapter of the alumni association.

Alumnus Ron Turo yesterday went so far as to ask board members to dissolve the Dickinson/Penn State union.

Hogg said alumni have received no details and won't learn of the school's fate until after the board meets.

?A lot of alumni object to that and want more information and want more input,?? he said.

Frey said the thrust of McConnaughay's recommendation is that, in order to thrive, the law school must move to State College.

?That, I have trouble believing,?? he said. ?My guess is the board isn't going to be very docile.??