PSU seeks right to close Carlisle site

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Community
Dickinson board to vote on law school plan ; PSU seeks right to close Carlisle site
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
A proposal to open a second campus of The Dickinson School of Law will be decided in two weeks. Dickinson's board of governors will meet at 10 a.m. Aug. 13 at the law school in Carlisle to vote on a Penn State University offer to operate a two-campus law school.

"I can't say who's going to be there [in Carlisle]. They can participate by phone," said LeRoy Zimmerman, board chairman.

A vote to accept the plan would also be the end of the Dickinson board's control over any relocation.

Under the plan, the second campus would open in 2008 in a new $60 million facility in University Park. The 170-year-old Carlisle campus would get a $25 million upgrade.

Penn State officials, however, have said the university must have authority to close the Carlisle campus if the two-campus plan fails.

Board members said they will not give up the right to keep Dickinson in Carlisle.

Zimmerman said four board members are negotiating terms of the proposal with Penn State officials.

The negotiating team will give a public progress report in a meeting at 10 a.m. Aug. 9 in the Harrisburg offices of the law- school board's lawyer, Jack Stover, at 213 Market St.

The Carlisle meeting of the 35-member board will also be public, as required under an amendment to the state open-meetings law signed this month by Gov. Ed Rendell.

Penn State in November proposed moving Dickinson to State College, but withdrew the offer June 14 and suggested the two- campus idea instead.

The condition that the board give up its control over the law school location was revealed July 21.

Meanwhile, the law school's alumni association has decided to oppose the proposal.

Law faculty offered opinions to the board in closed meetings in May. But Zimmerman said professors have not taken a unified position on Penn State's proposal.

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

Nearly a year after plans to build a campus for The Dickinson School of Law in State College surfaced, the school's board of governors will vote on the proposal. Their ballots will be cast in public, as required by a new state law that opens previously private board meetings to the public.

Alumni oppose Dickinson plan

Centre Daily Times (c) Copyright 2004, Centre Daily Times. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, July 29, 2004

Alumni oppose Dickinson plan
The Associated Press
CARLISLE Dickinson School of Law's alumni group opposes plans for the school to operate a second campus in State College, arguing that the law school should instead maintain a single, upgraded campus in Carlisle.

The school's General Alumni Association surveyed 753 alumni before approving a resolution Saturday that rejects a compromise plan to start a second site at Penn State's main campus, according to GAA President Luci Jankoski McClure.

"The suggestion of two campuses for DSL as a political compromise does not advance the ultimate goal of creating and maintaining a first class law school whose mission is to prepare students for the practice of law," the resolution, approved in a 19-1 vote, states.

An upgraded Carlisle campus, which is closer to Harrisburg, is the most convenient and cost-effective, the GAA said in a letter sent Tuesday to LeRoy S. Zimmerman, chairman of the law school board of governors, and others.

School officials first proposed moving the school -- Pennsylvania's oldest law school -- entirely from its lifelong home in Carlisle. But at a meeting in June, the law school's board voted to study the option of creating a law school with campuses in both Carlisle and State College.

Supporters of a move say staying in Carlisle would require millions of dollars in maintenance and building renovations. Moving to State College could bolster the school's reputation and allow students to take advantage of a wide variety of joint-degree programs, they said.

Opponents say the move would deliver an economic blow to Carlisle.

Dickinson Law alumni support Carlisle site

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Thursday, July 29, 2004

2-campus plan hit ; Dickinson Law alumni support Carlisle site
From staff and wire reports
The Dickinson School of Law's alumni group opposes plans for the school to operate a second campus in State College. The group argues that the law school should maintain a single, upgraded campus in Carlisle. The General Alumni Association surveyed 753 graduates before approving by a 19-1 vote a resolution that rejects a compromise plan to open a second site at Penn State University's main campus, according to association President Luci Jankoski McClure.

"The suggestion of two campuses for [the law school] as a political compromise does not advance the ultimate goal of creating and maintaining a first-class law school whose mission is to prepare students for the practice of law," stated the resolution, which was approved Saturday

An upgraded Carlisle campus is the most convenient and cost- effective plan, the association said in a letter sent Tuesday to LeRoy S. Zimmerman, chairman of the law school board of governors, and others.

Penn State administrators first proposed moving the entire school -- Pennsylvania's oldest law school -- from its lifelong home in Carlisle. But at a meeting in June, the law school's board voted to study the option of operating campuses in both Carlisle and State College.

Penn State, however, has said that if the two-campus plan fails, it wants the option to close the Carlisle campus. Dickinson and Penn State agreed when they merged in 2000 that the law school would always remain in Carlisle.

Supporters of a law facility in State College say millions of dollars in maintenance and building renovations would be needed to keep the school in Carlisle. Moving to State College could bolster the school's reputation and allow students to take advantage of a wide variety of joint-degree programs, they said.

Opponents say the Penn State Harrisburg campus already offers joint-degree programs. In addition, they said, joint degrees offered at law schools on other large university campuses are pursued by only 3 percent of students. They say State College would be unable to replicate hundreds of federal, state and local internships available to law students in the midstate.

They note the move would deliver an economic blow to Carlisle.

Pulitzer Prizer winner says: Keep Dickinson law school in Southcentral Pa.

York Daily Record Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
VIEWPOINTS
Keep Dickinson law school in Southcentral Pa.
THOMAS HYLTON York Daily Record
The controversial proposal to relocate the Dickinson School of Law from Carlisle to State College has a familiar ring. Two summers ago, as central Pennsylvania watched in rapt attention, a similar battle raged over the fate of another regional legend, Hershey Foods. The Hershey Trust, controlling stockholder of the famous chocolate maker, had decided to place the company on the auction block. The community was astonished. It faced the loss not only of a major employer, but a much-loved institution that helped define central Pennsylvania's culture and ideals.

Responding to the outcry, the Hershey Trust argued that its only mission was to preserve the Milton Hershey School for disadvantaged children. Selling the company would diversify the Trust's assets and maximize its endowment for the benefit of needy youth.

Of course, the sale never happened. After Attorney General Mike Fisher bottled up the bidding process in court, Gov. Mark Schweiker signed special legislation making it well-nigh impossible for the Hershey Trust to ever sell Hershey Foods.

The law "gives the community a chance to protect its well- being," said a spokesman for the governor after the bill was signed. "In the Hershey case, what was considered a permanent bond in the community was almost permanently severed without warning."

Talk about a permanent bond: Carlisle's ties to the Dickinson School of Law predate Milton Hershey's birth, much less the creation of his chocolate company. Founded in 1834, Dickinson was the nation's oldest independent law school when it merged with Penn State in 1997.

Dickinson's alumni include governors, U.S. senators, judges at the federal, state and local level, and other civic leaders who've served Pennsylvania for generations. To this day, its graduates do as well or better on the bar exam as any law school graduates in the state. Breaking its original promise to keep the school in Carlisle, Penn State proposed late last year to move the school to a new $60 million campus at University Park.

When it appeared the idea might be rejected by the school's board of governors, Penn State President Graham Spanier offered an eleventh-hour proposal to create two campuses, with a downsized one remaining in Carlisle.

Many fear the dual campus plan is only a temporary fix. Once the board approves moving the main campus to University Park, the Carlisle satellite may be left to wither away. Even if it doesn't, Dickinson and Carlisle will never be the same.

Like the Hershey Trust, Penn State says it has only the good of its school at heart. Like the Hershey Trust, Penn State has studiously the ignored the implications of its decision on the larger community.

As a recent report by the Brookings Institution has documented, our traditional towns have steadily lost residents and jobs for decades to the new housing subdivisions, shopping malls and corporate centers we've built in the countryside.

Even as we decry vanishing farmland and open space, state government has accelerated the process by investing more money in newly developing areas than the established communities where most of us still live.

Venerable institutions like Dickinson Law are our towns' greatest assets. They give them their sense of history and identity. They contribute economically and greatly enhance their quality of life. To revitalize our towns, we must build on these institutions, not remove or eviscerate them. And as they grow, land-locked schools like Dickinson can strengthen towns by adaptively reusing buildings that might otherwise deteriorate, such as the soon-to-be-vacant Carlisle Hospital.

When the schools first merged, President Spanier boasted that Dickinson "joins an institution that is not geographically bound, but rather provides many of its important services in diverse communities throughout the state."

"Tradition is important," Spanier said. "Penn State will remain particularly sensitive to the pledge of being a good neighbor to the people of Carlisle and a good steward of the Dickinson reputation that thousands of people have spent so many years establishing. "I am particularly pleased that this merger provides Penn State yet another opportunity to serve state government and the people of the greater Harrisburg area."

Two years ago, it took an act of state government to remind the Hershey Trust of its obligations to the community. This time around, I hope the Dickinson board of governors will stand firm on what the community needs, as opposed to what Penn State wants.

Thomas Hylton, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is author of "Save Our Land, Save Our Towns." He resides in Pottstown, Pa.

Would Dickinson lose too much?

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

Would Dickinson lose too much? ; Law school board debates 2-campus proposal
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
The message out of the first public meeting of The Dickinson School of Law's board of governors was clear: Carlisle would be the loser if a proposed two-campus law school failed. The proposal calls for Penn State University to build a $60 million law facility in State College and spend $10 million toward a $25 million upgrade of the law school's Carlisle campus.

Regardless of the success or failure of the two-campus arrangement, the Dickinson board would lose its power over the law school.

Those terms were quickly rejected yesterday by most of the eight board members in a committee meeting to discuss Penn State's proposal.

"We wouldn't be here today but for that [power]. Without it, anything could have happened and this little board couldn't have said anything against it," board member Arthur Piccone said.

Board Chairman LeRoy Zimmerman said the board will continue to negotiate with university officials. The full, 35-member board expects to vote on Penn State's proposal before Aug. 15. Zimmerman said the board will not give up its right to keep a law school in Carlisle.

Penn State's lawyer, Wendell Courtney, and senior vice president for finance and business, Gary Schultz, said Penn State trustees want the right to close the Carlisle campus or return it to the board of governors.

?We want to give this every opportunity to succeed. We hope we never have to get to this provision, forever. What if something dire happens??? Courtney said.

"Why do we even have to anticipate that? You've just got to make it work," board member Hubert X. Gilroy said. He said Penn State promised to keep the school in Carlisle when it merged with Dickinson in 2000.

Penn State first suggested relocating Dickinson to State College but withdrew that offer in June and proposed operating a law school with two campuses. The PSU law facility would open in 2008.

Some board members said the proposal appears to favor the success of a State College law school campus over a Carlisle campus.

Board member Leslie Anne Miller said the plan doesn't address what would happen if a State College law campus failed to do well.

Board member Jason Kutulakis said Penn State risks little if the two-campus plan fails. State College would have its law-school facility and, he said, "they've used [Dickinson] to get accreditation and a building."

Kutulakis said Penn State hasn't proven that a dual campus will improve education.

Supporters of a move to the large research university have contended it would improve academic offerings for law students and boost Dickinson's rankings.

Yesterday's discussion came during the first governor's board meeting opened to the public under an amendment to the state Sunshine Act, introduced by Sen. Harold Mowery, R-Cumberland.

The public had been banned from board meetings.

The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle had tried to force open board meetings and won their case in Cumberland County Court. Commonwealth Court overturned the decision in April, but the state Supreme Court agreed to hear the newspapers' appeal of the Commonwealth Court ruling.

Members will discuss proposal to open University Park law campus

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Community
Dickinson board to meet in public ; Members will discuss proposal to open University Park law campus
ELIZABETH GIBSON Of Our Carlisle Bureau
The board of governors of The Dickinson School of Law will meet in public tomorrow for the first time. The meeting will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Buchanan Ingersoll law offices at 213 Market St. in Harrisburg.

The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle had tried to force open board meetings and won their case in Cumberland County Court. Commonwealth Court overturned the decision in April, but the state Supreme Court had agreed to hear the newspapers' appeal of the Commonwealth Court ruling.

Eight of the board's 35 members will gather to discuss a Penn State University proposal to open a University Park law campus while maintaining the Carlisle law school campus.

Under a bill signed into law last week by Gov. Ed Rendell, nonprofit boards affiliated with public colleges and universities must open all their meetings to the press and the public.

The meeting is open to the public, although the public is not permitted to participate.

Law school board Chairman LeRoy Zimmerman said the eight-person committee intends to come up with a recommendation for or against the two-campus proposal, which it will take to the full board in the next few weeks.

The board is expected to vote on the plan, also in public, by Aug. 15.

Community interest in board meetings has been high since November when law Dean Philip McConnaughay and Penn State administrators proposed relocating the Carlisle school to State College.

The suggestion was withdrawn last month in a closed-door meeting.

Law signed to open board meeting

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Saturday, July 17, 2004

Law signed to open board meeting
NATHAN CRABBE For The Patriot-News
When The Dickinson School of Law board of governors meets to discuss splitting the school into two campuses, the public will be allowed to attend, under a law signed late Thursday night by Gov. Ed Rendell. The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle had attempted to force open the board's meetings through a legal challenge. The newspapers won their fight in Cumberland County Court, but the Commonwealth Court overturned the decision in April.

The law does not grant the public the right to participate in the meetings.

The law, sponsored by Sen. Hal Mowery, R-Cumberland, requires the school's board of governors to open meetings previously held in private. But it doesn't require public comment and the board won't take any, said board Chairman LeRoy Zimmerman.

The law school agreed to merge with Pennsylvania State University in 1997. Law school Dean Philip McConnaughay and Penn State administrators last fall proposed relocating the Carlisle-based law school to the main campus in State College, prompting outrage from many area business and political leaders.

The board shelved that proposal in June, but agreed to consider an alternate plan to operate campuses in both locations. The plan would upgrade the existing Carlisle campus for about $25 million, while a larger, second campus would be built in State College for $60 million.

The board expects to vote on the dual-campus proposal at its next meeting, Zimmerman said. The meeting is to take place before Aug. 15, he said, but the date and location haven't been determined.

Board member Jason Kutulakis, a Carlisle attorney, said public attendance at the meeting doesn't bother him, but might give pause to higher-profile members such as judges and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

"They will probably pick their words very carefully," Kutulakis said.

The House and Senate unanimously passed the open meetings law last month. While aimed at the Dickinson board, the law opens to the public all meetings of non-profit boards affiliated with public colleges and universities.

The state Supreme Court agreed to hear the Patriot-News and Sentinel appeal of the Commonwealth Court's decision, but the court isn't expected to hear the case until at least September.

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Thursday, July 8, 2004
Editorial
LAW SCHOOL ; Transparency in board meetings will aid decision-making process
Of the Patriot-News
The unanimous votes by both the state House and Senate to open board meetings of Penn State's Dickinson School of Law to the public was a victory for Pennsylvania citizens. As a public law school, the board has an obligation to provide high standards of accountability and transparency in its dealings, particularly over such a heated and momentous debate as the future of the school.

To open the board meetings, legislators had to expand the language in the Open Meetings -- or ?Sunshine?? -- Law to include ?nonprofit boards affiliated with state institutions of higher learning.?? The original Sunshine Act mandated that board meetings of public institutions of higher education be open to the public, a measure that always covered Penn State University and would seemingly cover its law school. However, the Commonwealth Court ruled in April that the law school board operates separately from the university and is therefore not subject to the act.

Over the past year, the law school board has conducted all of its meetings in secret. Had it not been for a breach of confidentiality last year by board members angry at the possibility of a move, the law school might be on its way to State College already, or at least portions of it. Such a decision behind closed doors is not in the best interest of Pennsylvania, the law school or its parent university.

More is at stake in the upcoming board decisions than physical location. At heart, the debate is about the philosophical direction of the school, which will affect more than the school's alumni.

A move to State College is a move to follow the predominant trend of Ivy League and top tier law schools who are ?going global.?? Students would pursue flashy joint degrees such as law and business, and they would graduate and head off to the top law firms and corporations in New York, Washington and around the world.

But does Pennsylvania really need another law school like the University of Pennsylvania's? And can a new law school in State College really expect to reach the status of a top 25 law school that it would need to be competitive in the global legal network?

Or do we want a public law school that still prepares top-shelf district attorneys, county and state judges, state legislators and a myriad of small-practice lawyers? In other words, do we want Penn State's Dickinson Law School to continue building upon its 170 years in Carlisle of molding the movers and shakers of this state?

The current proposal before the board says we need a bit of both that could be met by a dual-campus framework. The State College operation would be slightly larger -- accommodating 450 students and 30 faculty compared to 300 students and 20 faculty in Carlisle. The Dickinson campus would undergo a $25 million renovation, which Gov. Ed Rendell, a supporter of the dual-campus plan, has pledged $10 million in state money to help fund.

We already have raised questions about the cost-effectiveness of the dual-campus measure as well as whether a dual campus is simply a tide-over settlement until the whole operation can be moved to State College.

Whatever the outcome of the board's August meeting, Pennsylvania citizens deserve to hear the debate and know each board member's reasoning for voting the way they do. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Harold Mowery, R-Cumberland, and the Legislature deserve credit for seeing that it will happen.

Law school's mission, main campus untied

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Letters
Law school's mission, main campus untied
Those of us interested in the future of Dickinson School of Law should be pleased, although not surprised, about Penn State's recent change of heart. Its belated push to establish a dual campus, although wrongheaded and self-serving, is nevertheless a small step in the right direction by those who are convinced that a University Park campus is best for Dickinson's future. Several voices including mine, as long ago as November of last year, have been urging Penn State to consider a small satellite campus at University Park for the few students who wish to take joint degrees (a masters of business administration and a law degree, for instance).

Overlooked, however, has been the availability of PSU's Capitol College in Middletown. A broad range of graduate courses are offered there, but PSU has been quiet about joint degrees that Dickinson Law students could pursue without leaving Greater Harrisburg. Just one example is a joint degree in law and public administration.

The law school's educational mission for the great majority of its students has nothing to do and nothing common with PSU's main campus. The many obvious advantages achieved by the law school's location in Carlisle are the reasons that those of us who are struggling to keep the law school in Carlisle continue to shake our heads in disbelief and frustration at Penn State's stubborn resolve to relocate it. Federal, state and county judges work nearby, as do the legislative and executive branches of state government. Thousands of attorneys practice in central Pennsylvania; many of them regularly employ law students from Dickinson. State College, on the other hand, is not even a county seat, and Centre County has relatively few law firms.

There may be value in a small, focused satellite campus of Dickinson Law at University Park, but only for those students who truly need to be on the main campus because of their particular educational goals. The main campus and the administrative headquarters of Dickinson Law should remain in Carlisle, its traditional home.

CHARLES W. RUBENDALL II, ESQ.
Lewisberry

Bill forces open meetings of Penn State's law school

Centre Daily Times (c) Copyright 2004, Centre Daily Times. All Rights Reserved.
Monday, July 5, 2004
Bill forces open meetings of Penn State's law school
The Associated Press
HARRISBURG The board that runs Penn State University's law school would be required to hold its meetings in public under a bill passed by the Legislature this weekend.

The independent governing board of Dickinson School of Law is studying the option of moving part of the school to State College and keeping part of it in Carlisle.

Much of its work on that issue has been done behind closed doors, but a bill passed by the Senate on Sunday more narrowly defined the type of "agency" that must hold public meetings to apply to the law school.

Gov. Ed Rendell has indicated he would sign the bill, which the House passed Saturday.

Two newspapers, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg and The Sentinel of Carlisle, sued to force the board to hold its meetings in public. The newspapers won in Cumberland County Court, but the decision was overturned in April by the Commonwealth Court.

The two-campus proposal came after contentious debate this spring between university officials and community leaders.

School officials first proposed moving the school -- Pennsylvania's oldest law school -- entirely from its lifelong home in Carlisle. But at a meeting in June, the law school's board voted to study the option of creating a law school with campuses in both Carlisle and State College.

Supporters of a move say staying in Carlisle would require millions of dollars in maintenance and building renovations. Moving to State College could bolster the school's reputation and allow students to take advantage of a wide variety of joint-degree programs, they have said.

Opponents maintain that the move would deliver an economic blow to Carlisle.

Law school board Chairman LeRoy Zimmerman suggested the Legislature overstepped its bounds by making the open-meetings law apply to the board. He called the bill "bad public policy" and said he didn't think it was "appropriate or called for."

The law school was founded in 1834 as a department of Dickinson College, a private, liberal arts college. It became independent in 1890 and remained so until 2000, when it merged with Penn State. Under the merger agreement, the school's board is authorized to change the campus location at any time.

Senate OKs bill opening meetings ; Law school board prepared for public forum next month

Patriot-News Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Monday, July 5, 2004

Senate OKs bill opening meetings ; Law school board prepared for public forum next month, chairman says
JAN MURPHY Of The Patriot-News
The Dickinson School of Law's board is prepared to meet in public next month, if required, to decide whether to split the school into two campuses, board chairman LeRoy Zimmerman said. It appears that state law will require it.

The state Senate yesterday passed a House-amended bill by a 50-0 vote that more narrowly defined the type of "agency" that must hold public meetings to apply to the law school.

The bill goes to Gov. Ed Rendell, who has indicated he will sign it into law.

Zimmerman branded the legislation "bad public policy" that he didn't think was "appropriate or called for." Still, he said the law school board would abide by the law.

The bill was crafted to limit the requirement to the law school board's meetings without legally specifying the institution or board, at Penn State's request. It won unanimous support in the House on Saturday.

Sen. Harold Mowery, R-Cumberland, who sponsored the bill, said he was pleased the law passed and voiced his hope that it could help "keep all of the law school in Carlisle."

The board is weighing a proposal to renovate Trickett Hall, the law school's home, and build a larger law school facility at Penn State's University Park campus in State College.

That idea arose out of a board meeting held last month behind closed doors. It was proposed as an alternative to either keeping the entire school in Carlisle or relocating it to State College.

The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle have been battling in court with the law school's board to force the meetings to be held in the open, or "sunshine." The newspapers filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Court and won, but that decision was overturned in April by the Commonwealth Court. The case is pending before the state Supreme Court.

House OKs bill opening meetings ; Public could attend forum on proposed Dickinson split

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

House OKs bill opening meetings ; Public could attend forum on proposed Dickinson split
JAN MURPHY Of The Patriot-News
The state House yesterday passed a measure that would allow the public to attend next month's meeting to decide whether to split The Dickinson School of Law into two campuses. The bill, approved by a 202-0 vote, orders the law school's board of governors to hold open meetings.

An amendment was made to narrow the proposal's focus to address concerns that it apply specifically to the law school. Because of that, it must go back to the Senate for its approval. The Senate has already approved a similar measure.

That concurrence on the bill, sponsored by Sen. Harold Mowery, R- Cumberland, was expected to occur last night, and Mowery was optimistic it would pass. The Senate had not considered the bill as of this edition of The Patriot-News.

Gov. Ed Rendell has indicated he would sign the bill.

"It's a victory for the public, a victory for open meetings and accountability," said Rep. Will Gabig, R-Carlisle.

Law school board Chairman LeRoy Zimmerman called it "bad public policy." He said it could apply to nonprofit boards associated with higher education institutions other than the law school.

However, "If the law is passed, we will certainly accept and prepare to live by the new statute," Zimmerman said.

The law school's board met behind closed doors last month to discuss whether to maintain a campus in Carlisle or move the school to Penn State's main campus in State College.

Instead, the board decided to scrap those ideas and consider a dual-campus operation. The board is expected to meet to decide on that option next month.

The Patriot-News and The Sentinel of Carlisle have tried to force the meetings open through a court challenge. The newspapers won their fight in Cumberland County Court, but that decision was overturned by the Commonwealth Court in April. The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear the newspapers' appeal of that decision, but the high court isn't expected to hear the case until September or October.

Rendell has thrown his backing to that proposal and pledged $10 million in public money toward a $25 million renovation of Dickinson's Carlisle campus to house 300 students, 20 professors and a full program enhanced by continued public law internships.

Penn State has promised to raise $60 million for a law school facility that would hold 450 students, 30 faculty and a law program that would highlight chances for students to specialize their degree in business, finance, science and other areas.

Because public money is being promised, lawmakers said they considered it important that the public hear the deliberations that go into the decision of whether to pursue the dual-campus option.

Penn State law school board members, deans weigh new proposals

U-Wire (c) 2004 U-Wire. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, July 1, 2004
Pennsylvania State U.: Penn State law school board members, deans weigh new proposals
U-WIRE-07/01/2004-Pennsylvania State U.: Penn State law school board members, deans weigh new proposals (C) 2003 Daily Collegian Via U-WIRE By Jennette Hannah, Daily Collegian (Pennsylvania State U.)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The recent Dickinson School of Law dual-campus

proposal has lead to discussion regarding the plan's possible benefits to law school students as well as the impact it might have on the Carlisle community.

Former law school dean Peter Glenn said the proposal's success depends on the level of commitment by faculty and staff at both locations, and that it is important not to relegate the status of the Carlisle facility to that of a branch campus.

Glenn said an advantage of allowing students to study at University Park stems from a need for those with joint degrees in science and law to have access to both curricula.

"There is a market in the legal practice for lawyers who have masters or doctorates in the sciences ... patent lawyers," he said.

Board of Governors member and Dickinson graduate Michelle Moore said she liked the idea of having a closer physical affiliation with Penn State, and added that having the school in two locations would afford students with many opportunities.

"Boosting [Dickinson's tier three ranking] was probably a moderate factor," she said.

Glenn said increasing Dickinson's overall enrollment by about 150 students might affect the number of Pennsylvania law graduates able to find jobs throughout the region.

Similar affiliations or law school moves have been made at other universities.

Michigan State University College of Law professor David Favre said since the freestanding Detroit College of Law became affiliated with Michigan State in 1995, there has been a considerable increase in the number of applications as well as the quality of applications, measured by LSAT scores.

In 1997, the DCL moved in its entirety to the Michigan State campus and in April 2004, changed its name to Michigan State University College of Law.

"Now we're a Big Ten law school, with feelers in many states," Favre said. "Nobody would have heard about the Detroit College of Law in China, but everyone knows about Michigan State."

He added that one key difference between the two concurrent law school situations is that Michigan State's law school is financially independent, and is affiliated in name only.

Favre said the law school's affiliation with Michigan State has allowed them to open separate law school clinics, which offer students various free legal advice, such as landlord-tenant counsel and courtroom experience for law students.

Currently, Michigan State's College of Law is ranked as a fourth tier law school , according to the 2005 U.S. News and World Report. Each year graduate and undergraduate schools are ranked and placed in tiers according to specific criteria. Top tier, or tier 1, universities include Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania.

H. Laddie Montague, a Dickinson Board of Governors member who will also be investigating components of the proposal, said it was premature to discuss the positive or negative aspects of the two-campus plan.

"I want to do what's best for the school -- to achieve what's best for

the school," Montague said. " I think the intent [of the proposal] is that it will capture the advantages of both locations."

Christine Hammond, executive director for planning and administrative affairs at Michigan's College of Law, said reaction since the affiliation has been mixed among students and alumni, some of whom are concerned that it has become a different institution.

"On the other hand, there are many folks who've said 'bravo,' and that now it's more vibrant than ever," she said. "Students were very supportive of the move to East Lansing, and want to be part of a larger population."

Current Dickinson Dean Philip McConnaughay said that in order to promote a "meaningful interaction" between the two campuses, there would be an increased emphasis on audio-visual communication. This would allow students in Carlisle to take courses offered at University Park through real-time teleconferencing, and vice versa.

"We want it to be easy for students and faculty to walk into a room and to communicate with the other campus," he said.

Glenn, who was dean from 1994 to 2002, said during his tenure, no serious discussion about moving the school in the near future existed. He added that talk of renovating the Carlisle facility was limited because of the possibility that those renovations in 10 to 15 years would be in vain if the facility needed to move in order to expand.

"We knew from 1999 or 2000, that the day was going to come that the question of spending a considerable sum of money to improve the facility at Carlisle would arise reasonably soon," Glenn said.