Politics Can be So Much Fun!

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Local/State
CARLISLE
Legislators scramble to retain law school [Corrected 03/02/04] ; Linking state funding to promise suggested
JAN MURPHY Of The Patriot-News
CORRECTION: THIS STORY MISCHARACTERIZES GOV. ED RENDELL'S SUPPORT FOR A PROPOSAL TO KEEP THE LAW SCHOOL IN CARLISLE. THE GOVERNOR WILL EVALUATE THE PLAN IN LIGHT OF THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES, SAID NICK HAYS, A RENDELL SPOKESMAN.


State lawmakers are turning up the pressure to keep The Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, with one legislator talking about attaching strings to state money for Penn State University to ensure the law school stays. Rep. John Maher, R-Allegheny, said Friday he wants to work with midstate legislators to pursue the idea of making as a condition of university funding that Penn State honor a commitment made in 1997 when PSU and the law school merged.

"Penn State publicly promised -- loudly and frequently -- that the law school would remain in Carlisle forever. ... Public institutions should honor public promises," said Maher, a Carlisle native whose father, John Maher, is a former Dickinson law school dean and mother, Joan, is a member of the law school's board of governors.

The law school's board is deciding whether to keep the school in Carlisle at its present site in Trickett Hall, which is in need of renovation and expansion, locating the school elsewhere in Carlisle or moving it to State College. The law school's dean, Philip McConnaughay, said a move to State College would not only provide more space, but would allow the law school to offer programs more in line with today's legal education trends.

The board has formed committees to examine each alternative location and is expected to make a decision on the law school's future in the coming months.

A dual-campus option that would have the school operating in Carlisle and State College has come up, but the board has not appointed a special committee to examine that alternative, said board Chairman LeRoy Zimmerman.

After it became public last fall that the law school might move to Penn State's University Park campus, a group of midstate lawmakers, led by Sen. Hal Mowery, R-Cumberland, began developing strategies to keep the school in Carlisle.

Their plan seeks to secure $34 million in capital budget money to improve Trickett Hall and its parking. They have Carlisle officials on board to work with the law school on zoning ordinances required for upgrades to Trickett Hall.

They have also secured the Carlisle Health and Wellness Foundation's willingness to explore the school's use of the Carlisle Hospital, which the foundation owns, once the hospital's new facility is completed.

Rep. Will Gabig, R-Carlisle, said he has been working with Mowery and is supportive of his efforts, as opposed to Maher's proposal to threaten Penn State's funding.

"I'm reluctant to do that," he said. "We need to stay on the offensive and stay positive and complete the efforts Sen. Mowery has begun."

Gov. Ed Rendell is on board with Mowery's effort as well. He has pledged to use state resources to keep Dickinson in Carlisle, said his spokesman Nick Hays.

Maher, however, considers Mowery's plan inadequate in light of the $60 million that Penn State has offered to build a facility at University Park to house the law school. That's why he is suggesting another string he might attach to Penn State's funding would order the university to make the $60 million available regardless of where the law school is located.

Zimmerman said legislators' efforts to keep Dickinson in Carlisle is viewed as a demonstration of their interest and not seen as an effort to pressure the board. In fact, their efforts to secure financial support for the law school will prove critical whatever the board decides, he said.

"This all began with the discussion of our need to become more competitive as a law school and, to do that, we definitely need a new law school with new facilities," Zimmerman said. It's where those facilities will be that is the issue at hand, he said.

Penn State officials are not surprised by lawmakers' efforts to try to keep the law school in Carlisle.

"We understand that and appreciate their concern," said Stephen MacCarthy, university vice president for university relations.

Still, MacCarthy voiced optimism that a majority of lawmakers will keep the best interest of all Penn State students in mind when considering proposals that might threaten the university's forthcoming state money.

As for Mowery's effort to secure funds to keep the school in Carlisle, MacCarthy suggested he is putting the cart before the horse.

"Program decisions need to take precedence and building decisions should follow program decisions," he said.

Meeting with law school students canceled

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Friday, February 27, 2004

Meeting with law school students canceled
From staff reports
Penn State President Graham Spanier yesterday canceled a meeting with Dickinson School of Law students about issues relating to the law school. A scheduling conflict prompted the meeting's cancellation, said university Vice President Stephen MacCarthy.

The conversation with students was not specifically intended to focus on the law school's future location, but that likely would have come up, MacCarthy said.

The law school is embroiled in a controversy over whether it will stay in Carlisle, move to State College or possibly operate campuses in both locations.

Law school Dean Philip McConnaughay last fall suggested to the school's board of governors that it consider relocating to State College. He recommended the move to address space needs and changes in the trends of legal education.

Penn State offered $60 million to build a facility at its University Park campus. The law school's board is exploring its options and is expected to make a decision in the coming months.

The possible move to State College drew fire at this week's House budget hearing on Penn State's funding request.

Rep. John Maher, R-Allegheny, son of a former Dickinson School of Law dean, chastised Penn State for reneging on a commitment to stay in Carlisle.

Maher said that pledge was made repeatedly in 1997 when the law school and Penn State merged.

Penn State's definition of "forever" is "less than ten years." I took Corporations From his Father

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Thursday, February 26, 2004

'Forever expired,' House told at hearing ; PSU vow to keep law school in Carlisle cited at budget session
JAN MURPHY Of The Patriot-News
The namesake son of former Dickinson School of Law Dean John Maher yesterday congratulated Penn State for getting to the bottom of a mystery that has baffled philosophers for ages. How long is forever?

"Astonishingly, that answer is under 10 years," said Rep. John Maher, R-Allegheny, during Penn State's House budget hearing yesterday.

Maher was referring to the Penn State and Dickinson School of Law merger in 1997. Officials then said the law school would remain in Carlisle forever, he said.

"Forever has expired," said Maher, a Carlisle native whose father served as dean of the law school from 1989 to 1994.

The law school's board of governors is considering whether to keep the school in Carlisle or move it to State College. Law school Dean Philip McConnaughay last fall proposed moving the school to address space needs and changing trends in legal education. That could lead to improved national rankings, he said.

Penn State has offered to build a $60 million facility to house the law school at its University Park campus.

In comments made to Penn State President Graham Spanier, Maher admonished the university for making the $60 million offer. He asked Spanier to commit to allowing the law school's board of governors to make the decision ?free of that coercion by assuring whatever financial incentives are being offered to the law school will be even, regardless of whether it resides in State College or Carlisle.??

After the hearing, Spanier, who didn't know Maher by name, said he was going to ask McConnaughay to talk to him.

"I'm not sure he's gotten all of the information right," Spanier said. "At the time of the merger, we did not contemplate the law school moving. That's something that has come up more recently as a possibility, and we'll explain that to him and give him a little more of the background."

Maher wasn't the only lawmaker to make a case for keeping the law school in Carlisle.

Rep. Patrick Fleagle, R-Franklin, said the south-central Pennsylvania legislators are as protective of keeping the law school in Carlisle as they are about keeping Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey.

"We consider it ours," Fleagle said.

He said there was concern voiced when Penn State and the law school merged about ?a monster coming down and taking over.?? The university allayed those concerns by enhancing the law school's image, he said. Now, those worries have resurfaced.

Spanier said the university is mindful of the law school's importance to the region, but its responsibility is to do what's in the best interests of future students.

He also elaborated on a compromise idea that he proposed that involves keeping part of the school at Trickett Hall in Carlisle and moving the rest to a new facility at University Park.

He envisions Trickett Hall would be used for offering a part- time law degree program, graduate programs for lawyers, programs that could be shared between campuses and "an executive-level education program," similar to one offered at Harvard's JFK School of Government.

Fleagle responded, "Dickinson is important to us ... .We will work with you in any way possible for any type of situation that will enable them to stay [in Carlisle]."

Legislature Adds Its Two Cents Worth

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Sunday, February 22, 2004

Bill would clarify Sunshine Act ; Change would mandate open meetings at public universities
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
A state lawmaker has proposed a bill that would end questions about whether meetings of The Dickinson School of Law board of governors must be held in public. Sen. Hal Mowery, R-Camp Hill, said his bill would amend the state open records law -- the Sunshine Act -- to specifically open meetings of boards affiliated with public universities.

"I just think it should be something that should be done in the open, and everybody should have the opportunity to observe," he said.

A Cumberland County judge already ruled that the meetings must be open but the board is appealing the decision in Commonwealth Court. The law school is affiliated with Penn State University, but the Dickinson board argued that its meetings can be held behind closed doors because it is partly independent from Penn State.

Last year, Dickinson's dean proposed moving the school from Carlisle to University Park in State College. The board's discussions have all been private.

Earlier this month, The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle convinced Cumberland Judge Edward E. Guido that the board's talks should be open to the public.

The media played a key role in that decision, Mowery said.

"Things could have already been taken care of and for all purposes, it could have been up in State College by now," Mowery said.

Guido said his decision was based on the board's role as a committee of the trustees of Penn State, which is a publicly funded school.

Corinna Wilson, general counsel and vice president of the Pennsylvania Newspapers Association, said Mowery's proposal appears to target only those types of committees, rather than a broad range of organizations.

Patriot-News attorney Craig J. Staudenmaier said that although it has been ruled that the Sunshine Act applies to the Dickinson board, an amendment would prevent ongoing court battles.

"It would certainly eliminate time and expense in the future, and the public wouldn't have to wrestle with the issue," he said.

Mowery said people have been frustrated by the Dickinson board's insistence on keeping meetings closed when its decisions will affect many in the area.

"Sen. Mowery is taking a much-needed and much-appreciated step for the citizens of the commonwealth," Wilson said.

The Two Campus Proposal Rears Its Ugly Head

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Law school could have 2 campuses ; Spanier raises possibility for Dickinson
JAN MURPHY AND ELIZABETH GIBSON Of The Patriot-News
A new option has surfaced in the tug-of-war over the future location of The Dickinson School of Law, one that would eliminate the need to choose between State College and Carlisle. "There's also the option of being in both locations, which I think, if we think creatively about, could hold the key," Penn State President Graham Spanier said during a meeting yesterday with The Patriot-News editorial board.

The law school's dean, Philip McConnaughay, has proposed moving the school to State College, near its parent institution, Penn State.

Penn State has offered to build a $60 million facility to house the law school. Spanier said physical and program upgrades are critical to improving Dickinson's national rankings.

The decision rests in the hands of the law school's board of governors, but several governors said last night that, while the two- campus idea surfaced during periods of brainstorming, the board has not studied it.

"That is one of many ideas that I have heard floated ... nothing specific," board member Dale F. Shughart Jr. said.

"It was never openly discussed at a meeting," board member Nathan H. Waters Jr. said.

He and other members have been studying three options for upgrading Dickinson: expand the Carlisle site, build elsewhere in the Carlisle area or move to State College.

Anthony Falvello, who is on a committee looking into expanding the school's current site on South College Street, said the group has not talked about using Dickinson's Trickett Hall as a secondary campus.

"I haven't heard any details from Penn State on that," he said.

But Spanier said yesterday that the two-campus idea has been given serious thought.

The way he described it, a structure would be built at University Park, where a substantial part of the law school would be based. Trickett Hall would be renovated to house portions of the law school program that some feel must be close to Harrisburg's state and federal courts, he said.

Technology would make it easy to communicate between campuses, he said.

Spanier predicted it could take four to six years to complete construction or renovation work for any of the options. Program changes to improve the law school and its national rankings probably would take an additional five years, he said.

?In my mind, it's more like a 10-year project to get the law school really running on all cylinders the way we'd like to position ourselves for the next era,?? Spanier said.

No decision on Dickinson's future will be decided, though, until board meetings resume.

Meetings were suspended early this month after The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle successfully argued in Cumberland County court that closing the meetings to the public would violate the state open records law. The board is appealing the ruling in Commonwealth Court.

When the board makes its decision, he is prepared to carry it out, Spanier said. He talked at length, though, about the synergy that would come from having the law school in the same location as the university's leading scholars in a host of different disciplines.

"That is one of the reasons why most of the law schools in the Big 10 are ranked in the ... top 50 in the country among the 200 or so law schools," Spanier said.

He said he is sensitive to the impact that the law school's leaving could have on Carlisle, ?but at some point, my responsibility is to take a more global statewide perspective and look at the next 10,0000 students who are going to be graduating from that law school and what's in their best interest.??

Finding a new location in Carlisle has little appeal to Spanier. Part of the reason for staying in Carlisle is the tradition and nostalgia attached to its current location, he said.

Spanier suggested that would be lost in any move, whether it was to another site in Carlisle or to State College.

Staying at Trickett Hall presents a different set of challenges. The building needs to be expanded and renovated to meet current codes, Spanier said. Doing that while keeping the law school open would be a challenge, he said.

Regardless of which direction the board takes, Spanier said he remains optimistic about the law school's future.

"We can make any solution work and will, and Penn State will be better however we come out of this," he said.

Law school to appeal ruling on meetings

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Local/State
Law school to appeal ruling on meetings
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
The board of governors of The Dickinson School of Law will present arguments to Commonwealth Court next month in an appeal of a Cumberland County court ruling. Cumberland Judge Edward E. Guido agreed with The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle that the board's meetings should be open to the public.

The newspapers had sued the law school's board, arguing that closed board meetings violated the Sunshine Act, the state's open records law.

They claimed that the meetings should be open to the public and to the news media, arguing that the governors board is a committee of Penn State University's trustee board.

The board's lawyers are scheduled to make their appeal before the full panel of nine Commonwealth judges.

That will take place on March 3 in Philadelphia.

Commonwealth judges could affirm Guido's ruling and uphold a preliminary injunction that requires open meetings, or it could reverse the ruling and dissolve the injunction.

The board of governors canceled a Feb. 7 meeting during which it could have decided whether to expand the school in Carlisle, or to move it to University Park to be near its parent institution, Penn State.

No other meetings have been scheduled.

Residents talk of loss if school moves

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Thursday, February 5, 2004
Local/State
Law students' help touches many in Carlisle ; Residents talk of loss if school moves
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
Gwendolyn Johnson talked about her children, jobs, even her thoughts on President Bush when she met with law school student Jackie A. Olexy. The Carlisle resident wasn't looking for legal tips from Olexy, a first-year student at The Dickinson School of Law. Olexy was preparing Johnson's income tax return as part of Dickinson's free tax clinic.

Each year, hundreds of Carlisle residents rely on students from the law school for a myriad services otherwise unavailable to them - - at least not without a cost.

From free legal advice to its own Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter, the law school has played a vital role in the Carlisle community for 170 years.

"I couldn't do it myself, and I just can't afford to pay $300 to H&R Block," Johnson said of her tax return.

But Carlisle residents could eventually be forced to look elsewhere for these services.

Dickinson Dean Philip McConnaughay in November proposed moving the school to State College, near parent institution Penn State University, which has offered to build the law school a $60 million facility.

If the school relocates, it would leave behind a void, many residents say.

"It would just be a sad loss for us," said Ann Cook, a Carlisle High School teacher. "They're so community-minded. As a citizen, I would be devastated."

Law professor Gary Gildin coaches Cook's students for regional Mock Trial contests.

"Not only does Gary help us, we use the law school to practice, which gives the kids a real feeling of professionalism," Cook said.

Carlisle High School senior Margaret Bounds, who competes as a defense lawyer, bemoaned the idea of losing the legal laboratory.

"There's a judge's bench and a witness box in the classroom we practice in," she said.

"When we're running through the case, it actually feels like a courtroom."

And Val Vidal, a cook at the Carlisle Salvation Army kitchen, says he would miss an extraordinary volunteer work force.

Vidal works closely with law students who help prepare and serve food at the Dickinson Soup Kitchen Club.

?They're probably one of the better workers. They come in and go right to work. They're always real cheerful. A lot of times they'll eat with the people who come in,?? Vidal said.

The decision to relocate the law school rests with Dickinson's board of governors, which consists of 35 law school graduates, including federal Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and former state Attorney General LeRoy Zimmerman.

Board members are also considering keeping Dickinson in Carlisle and renovating the school or building a new one.

The law school is not affiliated with Dickinson College.

This week, a Cumberland County judge ordered the board of governors to open its meetings to the media and public.

The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle had sued to challenge the board's closed-meeting policy.

For now, the community and the law students contemplate their common future.

Third-year Dickinson student Liz Syer said personal relationships are easier to develop in Carlisle's small setting. Besides, she said, Penn State's main campus, which has 42,000 students already, has plenty of community volunteers.

Carlisle, Syer said, needs the school more than State College.

"The students are split," she said. "I don't want the school to move."

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

Among the services The Dickinson School of Law offers to Carlisle:

* THE FAMILY LAW CLINIC IN THE DALE F. SHUGHART COMMUNITY LAW CENTER downtown offers Cumberland County residents free legal help with divorce and other domestic matters.

* MILLER CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST ADVOCACY pairs students with local lawyers for pro bono work and other public assistance.

* PROJECT STAFF, or Students Taking Action For the Future, is devoted to charity and community service through such programs as the law school's chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

* AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND. Dickinson hosts local chapters of these and other national organizations.

* VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE AND COUNSELING FOR THE ELDERLY program has been held in the school each winter for 25 years.

* COMMENCEMENT, LECTURES AND OTHER EVENTS have brought to town U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, among many others.

* SCHOOL FACULTY HAVE TAKEN PIVOTAL ROLES in local and state organizations: Professor Victor Romero served as the inaugural president of the Carlisle Area Branch of the NAACP and Professor Gary Gildin is vice president of the state American Civil Liberties Union and president of the ACLU's South Central Chapter.

* STUDENTS LEAD A COMMUNITY VOTER-REGISTRATION DRIVE and raise money for cancer research.

PHOTO; DAN GLEITER; Caption: Third-year Dickinson School of Law student Carolyn Fenton helps Scott McClintock of Shermans Dale prepare his tax return at the school's income tax clinic.

OUR OPINION: Law school should keep meetings open;

York Daily Record Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Thursday, February 5, 2004

OUR OPINION: Law school should keep meetings open; Kudos to newspapers for opening meetings about The Dickinson School of Law's possible move.
York Daily Record
Assorted thoughts on assorted issues. Open meetings: Kudos to our friends at the newspapers in Harrisburg and Carlisle for taking The Dickinson School of Law to court to make that school's board meet in public.

On Monday, a Cumberland County judge agreed with The Patriot- News and The Sentinel that state law requires open meetings because the campus is part of the Penn State University system.

The law school merged with Penn State in 2000 and may be relocated in the future to the university's main campus. Shifting these folks would impact the local economy of Carlisle, where the 170-year-old law school is now.

The public has a right to know what factors are controlling this decision. The Sunshine Act controls which meetings can and cannot be closed in Pennsylvania.

For its part, the law school's board plans to appeal the ruling, saying the open meeting law does not apply to the school.

Isn't it shameful that a law school would get this wrong?

Isn't it shameful that a law school would not understand the need to conduct its business in public especially with the fact that Penn State University relies on public funds to operate?

Isn't an appeal unnecessary?

A debate? Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., shouldn't be afraid to debate his challenger in the primary election this year.

U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is an articulate conservative who wants Republican voters to put him in the U.S. Senate seat this year.

Rep. Toomey has asked for six debates to be held. Sen. Specter, seeking his fifth term in the U.S. Senate, has said he'll agree to one televised debate. While six may be too many, one seems too few.

The primary's winner will go on to face Rep. Joseph Hoeffel, D- Montgomery, on the Democrats' ticket in the fall.

Important items are at hand for the Republican-controlled House and Senate. Witness the national discussion on issues such as the budget, the deficit, Medicare changes, post-war Iraq, homeland security, and President Bush's proposal for a new mission to the moon.

No better opportunity exists to hear both of their views on what should happen next.

While the primaries roll across the nation in the coming month, Pennsylvanians will want to hear from those who can put our state in the debate.

How might the deficit hit everyday Pennsylvanians, for example?

How might the ongoing effort to rebuild Iraq affect those with loved ones there or ready to go?

And how might the holder of this Senate seat best represent this state in the new challenges ahead?

Sen. Specter and Rep. Toomey should come to an agreement on a primary season debates now. In turn, the winner should debate Rep. Hoeffel later this year. The Daily Record would be happy to sponsor such a debate in York County.

Politics is in the air. Let's hear from those who want to keep practicing it to further the interests of the state.

Law school board appeals open meeting requirement

Centre Daily Times (c) Copyright 2004, Centre Daily Times. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, February 4, 2004
Law school board appeals open meeting requirement
By Gwenn Miller gmiller3@centredaily.com
The Penn State Dickinson School of Law's board of governors filed a notice of appeal protesting a judge's decision to open the board's meetings to the public, board Chairman LeRoy Zimmerman said Tuesday. Cumberland County Common Pleas Judge Edward Guido ruled Monday that the board meetings are subject to the state's Sunshine Act. Two newspapers, The Sentinel of Carlisle and the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, sued the board to gain access to the board's meetings after law school Dean Philip McConnaughay issued a memo saying he wanted to move the law school from Carlisle to State College.

The board of governors was scheduled to meet Saturday, but Zimmerman said he postponed the meeting because the board could not comply with Sunshine Act requirements in time.

Zimmerman said he reviewed Guido's decision with the board's legal counsel and said the decision had significant ramifications for higher education institutions in Pennsylvania, the board of governors, and all nonprofit organizations across the state.

"It's not something that's narrow in its impact," Zimmerman said.

Committees within the board of governors are examining the issues facing Dickinson in terms of its need for new facilities. One committee recently visited University Park and was scheduled to report its findings to the board Saturday. No vote on any proposal was scheduled for Saturday, Zimmerman said.

In his view, Zimmerman said, the law school needs a new facility. Exactly where that facility will be located is still being discussed, he said. Forums are also being held in locations across Pennsylvania and surrounding states to gain opinions from alumni.

"Certainly all of us want to get all of the input the board feels is necessary from students, faculty, alumni and the community at large," Zimmerman said. "And we're in the process of doing that."

Law school cancels meeting ; Court orders panel to open discussion on possible move

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, February 4, 2004

Law school cancels meeting ; Court orders panel to open discussion on possible move
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
A Saturday meeting that could have decided the future location of The Dickinson School of Law has been canceled, school officials said yesterday. The cancellation came one day after Cumberland County Judge Edward E. Guido ordered the board of governors to open its meetings to the media and public.

Guido ruled that the board's policy of closing the meeting to the public violates the state open records law.

The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle had sued the board to open its meetings to the media and the public.

The law school and board of governors yesterday appealed the ruling in Commonwealth Court.

Board of governors chairman LeRoy Zimmerman said that the meeting had to be canceled due to the fact that there was not enough time to properly publicize it, which would be required under the state Sunshine Act.

No new meeting date has been set, he said.

Board committees had hoped to discuss results of a monthlong study of school expansion options.

Those options included a plan for moving the law school to State College to be near its parent institution, Penn State University.

A local expansion at the existing South College Street campus or elsewhere in the Carlisle area was also studied.

Law School Dean Philip McConnaughay in November asked the board to consider moving the school to State College.

The board said a decision could be made by May.

Despite the board's claim that the meetings could be held behind closed doors, Zimmerman said that he expected the board to conduct at least some of its deliberations in public.

"The board has never been asked to express an opinion as to whether to open its meetings to the public," said G. Thomas Miller, a board member.

"With all the public support we have for the school, I don't see why our deliberations have to be kept secret," he said.

PSU law school board must open meetings to public

Centre Daily Times (c) Copyright 2004, Centre Daily Times. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
A
PSU law school board must open meetings
The Associated Press
CARLISLE The board that governs Penn State's law school, which is considering whether to move its campus, must open all future meetings to the public, a judge ruled Monday.

Cumberland County Common Pleas Judge Edward E. Guido granted a preliminary injunction sought by two newspapers, The Patriot-News, of Harrisburg, and The Sentinel, of Carlisle, that have sued to open the meetings of The Dickinson School of Law's board of governors.

The board's next meeting is scheduled for Saturday.

The newspapers went to court in November after law school officials said that an "informational meeting" about the school's facilities and location would be closed because the open-meetings law does not apply to the board. No decision was made at that meeting.

LeRoy Zimmerman, chairman of the board, said Monday that while he planned to review Guido's opinion with the board's counsel, "I can see no reason why we would not file a prompt appeal to the Commonwealth Court because of very important policy issues that result from this decision."

"We believe that it's an erroneous judgment and there are grounds for appeal," Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said. "We believe the higher court will ultimately decide in favor of the board of governors."

Mahon said he did not know when the case would be appealed.

It was reported in November that the law school's dean, Phil McConnaughay, was recommending that the school move to State College by the fall of 2008, citing a need to expand and concerns about its "languishing reputation."

Judge opens law school's board meetings

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
A Section
Judge opens law school's board meetings
MATT MILLER Of Our Carlisle Bureau
Backing a plea by two newspapers, a Cumberland County judge has ordered The Dickinson School of Law's board of governors to open its meetings to the media and public. Judge Edward E. Guido agreed yesterday with The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle that state law requires the board sessions to be open because it is an agency of Penn State University, a publicly funded institution.

The law school and Penn State merged in 2000.

Guido ordered that the board open its meeting on Saturday, when it might vote to keep the 170-year-old law school in Carlisle or move it to Penn State's campus in State College.

Board Chairman LeRoy S. Zimmerman vowed to appeal to Commonwealth Court.

"I have great respect for Judge Guido and the careful attention he devoted to this important legal case," Zimmerman said. "However, I can see no reason why we would not file a prompt appeal ... because of the important policy issue this decision appears to have for the university, the law school and all nonprofit organizations."

David Newhouse, executive editor of The Patriot-News, called Guido's ruling "a victory for the residents of Carlisle, for law school alumni and for everyone who cares about the future of the Dickinson Law School."

"As a part of Penn State, the law school's board meetings are the public's business, and we are delighted that Judge Guido has opened them to all concerned citizens," he said.

The newspapers have sought access to the board's meetings since law school Dean Phillip McConnaughay issued a memo in November outlining a proposal to move the school.

In a lawsuit, the newspapers insisted that the Sunshine Act, which specifies which meetings must be open, applies to the board because it is an agency of Penn State's board of trustees.

The law school board's lawyers claimed the law doesn't apply because the board is semiautonomous and can even sue Penn State to enforce terms of the merger agreement. Guido ruled that the Dickinson board is a "de facto committee" of Penn State's trustees.

If the board's meetings remain closed, "The public will be harmed by the denial of its right to witness the deliberations on a matter of importance to a publicly funded institution and to the local community," Guido ruled.