DSL says goodbye to Lewis Katz

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/communities/carlisle/dickinson-school-of-law-remembers-alumnus-lewis-katz/article_3c2546a6-eaa5-11e3-ae6c-001a4bcf887a.html

In 2007, Katz made an unprecedented $15 million gift to the Dickinson School of Law, one of the single largest acts of philanthropy in Penn State’s history, the law school said. With the 1966 graduate’s work through donations and behind the scenes, Gildin said Katz was a major reason the law school is still in Carlisle.

“I think he was adamant, no matter what, for the law school to stay (in Carlisle) long-term,” he said. “I’ve never had a conversation with him where he did not include an expression of love for his law school.”

DSL shocked by death of alum Lewis Katz

He was before my time.

"Certainly, the Penn State Dickinson School of Law had no better friend than Lewis Katz. I am most struck by his concern over the success of this law school," Gildin said Monday. "There was never a conversation (with him) where he didn't say or express, 'I love my law school.'"

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/06/dickinson_school_of_law_shocke.html

It's time to PAR-TAYYYYY! That Dean leaves DSL and the country.

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/education/college/penn-state-dickinson-school-of-law-dean-to-leave-post/article_ed5ae0ac-665d-11e2-8a1e-001a4bcf887a.html

As a former resident partner of international law firm Morrison & Foerster in Tokyo and Hong Kong, Penn State Dickinson School of Law Dean Philip McConnaughay will return to Asia for the next stage of his career.
Peking University’s School of Transnational Law Thursday announced that McConnaughay was named dean of the school, which is located in Shenzen, China. McConnaughay is expected to take up the post Aug. 1.

I would make some comment about the door and his behind, but it would be trite.

Premeditated Murder of Dickinson by Penn State

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/11/the-end-of-dickinson

PSU’s law school is the brainchild of Graham Spanier, who early in his tenure at the university’s president decided that the university ought to have a law school, because prestige etc. At that time, Tom Ridge was Pennsylvania’s governor. Ridge is an alumnus of the Dickinson School of Law, a small private law school in Carlisle, which is the seventh-oldest law school in the country, having operated since the early 19th century. (It’s never been affiliated with Dickinson College, the well-regarded liberal arts college in the same town).

Spanier decided that the best way to advance this scheme was to convince Ridge to allow PSU to acquire Dickinson. Over the next few years complex political negotiations — in which Ed Rendell apparently played some role as well — eventually produced the following deal: The law school would become part of PSU, and a second campus for the school would open in State College, site of PSU’s flagship campus. PSU agreed to keep the Carlisle campus open until at least 2025, or 2020 if the university declared a financial exigency. The university committed to spending an enormous sum — about $130 million — on creating the new campus and updating the old one. Consequently, PSU built a $60 million law school building in State Park, which opened in 2009, and spent an additional $50 million on a new building and the upgrading of the existing physical plant at the Carlisle campus. The new Carlisle facilities were completed in 2010.

Spanier’s “vision” called for a law school with a typical first year enrollment of around 240 students, with two thirds of these in State College and the rest in Carlisle. This exercise in classic imperial administrative overstretch began to fall apart almost immediately. Predictably, the faculties of the law school’s two campuses didn’t get along. The State College faculty wanted to chase after rankings, which meant playing the academic prestige game, which in turn meant trying to hire faculty who would publish lots of law review articles. The righteous remnant in Carlisle, also quite predictably, started thinking of itself as focused on professional training — “experiential learning” in the current jargon — rather than on “theory.” (“Theory” is the buzzword for anything smacking of academic pretentions in this thing of ours).

Go to the link for the rest.

Dickinson law school to provide grant to Pennsylvanians

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/communities/carlisle/dickinson-law-school-to-provide-grant-to-pennsylvanians/article_ee126fb4-5870-11e3-a590-0019bb2963f4.html

CARLISLE — Penn State University Dickinson School of Law is giving state residents a new reason to consider the law school.

The school will provide a renewable, annual grant of $20,000, available through the Commonwealth Scholars program, for Pennsylvania residents who are applying to the law school.

Maybe this marks a trend of returning to the notion of state-supported law schools.  Tuition at a private school is understandably higher than at a state school.  But in the last decade or so, even the state schools have hiked up their tuition to private-school levels.  State schools should be more affordable for residents of the state, so this is a move in the right direction.

My first year at DSL was 1977-1978.  Back then, the state gave a small grant to Pennsylvania residents.  I was from Maryland so I didn't receive it.  But then, I think even without the grant, my tuition was only about $1500 per semester.  (That's the number I remember; maybe someone else can confirm.)   I paid for the first year of law school (including living expenses) with a $5,000 inheritance and got a student loan for $10,000 to pay for the last two years, so I think my memory is accurate.  (I also had what they called a "library scholarship" for middler year, which means I worked in the law library.  For third year I worked for Dean Wilks.)

Can DSL come back from the dead after mauling by Penn State?

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/09/first-year_enrollment_at_dicki.html

First-year enrollment takes serious hit at Dickinson School of Law's Carlisle campus

By Charlie Thompson and Eric Veronikis

First-year student enrollment has dropped drastically this semester at Penn State Dickinson School of Law’s Carlisle campus.

And as alarming as the more than 38 percent loss is, school officials said the fallout is symptomatic of a trend that has produced significantly fewer law school applicants nationwide.

And law schools statewide, including Widener University School of Law’s Delaware and Susquehanna Township campuses, are not immune from the problem, either.

Law school officials said numbers are declining nationally, because the economy has caught up with the legal field, creating fewer positions for graduates. And more students today believe law school is not a worthwhile investment, due to the amount of debt they must incur to earn law degrees.

Carlisle had 34 first-year students enroll this fall, down from 55 students during the fall of 2012. And while the school will not submit its official enrollment figures to the American Bar Association until early next month, Dickinson doesn’t expect the number to deviate, said Ellen Foreman, spokeswoman for the law school.

The school’s State College campus enrolled fewer students this semester, too.

But its 6 percent decline pales compared with Carlisle’s fallout. State College, which had 105 first-year students during last year’s fall semester, saw its enrollment drop to 98 this year.

Combined, the two campuses saw first-year student enrollment fall by 17.5 percent.

 

Carlisle’s problems could be compounded by the uncertainty created at that campus byformer Dean Phillip J. McConnaughay’s failed proposal last year to end first-year instruction there.

McConnaughay, in response to the trends, had proposed a pairing of the classes at Penn State, to include the elimination of future first-year instruction at Carlisle.

After strong pushback from alumni and Carlisle community leaders, many of whom argued that Penn State was reneging on a commitment to maintain a full program at Dickinson’s original campus, McConnaughay reverted to the split campus proposal.

Two accreditations, not one

Dickinson now is seeking separate accreditations from the ABA for both campuses, Foreman said.

“The purpose of the separate accreditation is to address the declining enrollment issues, giving each campus the ability to market itself and accredit itself,” she said.

Barry Currier, who directs the ABA’s law school accreditation process, confirmed last week that Penn State has submitted an application to gain separate accreditations for its two law campuses.

That process is ongoing, and will pick up with the first of possibly several site visits later this fall.

Until a final determination is made, the schools are expected to continue operating under the joint accreditation awarded to Penn State’s unified campus.

“It’s obviously toward the beginning of that process,” Currier said.

Foreman said she does not expect the two schools to operate under their own accreditations until the fall 2015 semester.

Currier declined comment when asked if the shrinkage at Carlisle would complicate the accreditation process, though ABA officials separately have noted there is no specific number of students or staff required by the ABA.

What the examiners will be looking for at Carlisle and State College, Currier said, is more of a quality assurance that each school will meet all of the educational requirements for a Juris Doctor degree, with the attendant library and other support services.

Earlier this year, meanwhile, the Carlisle faculty said they would support seeking a separate accreditation on three conditions:

• That the separation not take effect until both law campuses receive a full accreditation from the ABA;
• That the school have its own dean with reporting lines to the provost, Penn State’s top academic officer;
• That the Carlisle campus’ budget be built on small classes to give it a chance to begin its independent life with high enrollment standards.

What is obvious is that the contraction of the traditional legal education market — the issue that McConnaughay said was the driving force behind his efforts to retool the law school — is continuing.

According to numbers from the Law School Admissions Council, nationally, the number of law school applicants for the class starting this fall fell 12.3 percent from 2012, to 59,426.

By contrast, law schools heard from 100,600 applicants in 2004, the high-water mark over the past decade.

Total law school applications - most individuals apply to multiple schools - dropped even more steeply last year, by 17.9 percent, to a total of 385,368. That’s also a drop of more than 36 percent from the recent high of 602,300 applications received by schools in 2010.

Discouraged by debt

James Leipold, executive director of the National Association for Law Placement in Washington, D.C., attributes some of the decline in applicants and applications to a weak job market for new lawyers in the wake of the 2007-08 recession, all played out against the backdrop of a relatively new national conversation about the student loan debt being racked up for higher education generally.

"I do think people at this point are more reluctant to borrow to go to school than they used to be," said Leipold, adding that may show up disproportionately for graduate schools.

In the legal profession, in particular, he noted, "the job market has been very weak since the recession set in, and there's been no shortage of publicity about that."

Ups and downs at Widener

He and other experts said they are still waiting to see where the bottom is.

Widener University saw its first-year enrollment drop from 468 during the fall of 2011, to 316 this year. That figure includes full- and part-time students. And Like Dickinson, Widener has yet to submit its final enrollment numbers to the ABA this semester.

Widener believes its numbers fit in with what is happening nationally, and that the problem is cyclical.

Juris Doctorate "admissions have experienced ups and downs in the past, and while the challenge is significant, we firmly believe in the value of a law degree, and its long-term appeal for a professional career in government work, public service work, compliance work, academic work and corporate work,” said Mary Allen, Widener spokeswoman. 

Shrinkage welcome at Duquesne

Similar to McConaughay’s attempt, Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University School of Law has made it a point to shrink its program as enrollment has declined.

Duquesne enrolled about 200 first-year students five years ago. This fall, first-year enrollment has fallen to about 140, said Ken Gormley, dean of the law school.

“Like all law schools, we have experienced downturn in applicants and enrollment, but we have tried to manage it carefully and intelligently. In the past two years, we worked with president of the university to gradually shrink the entering class so we don’t do any harm to the program,” Gormley said.

Like Dickinson, Duquesne has refused to lower its enrollment standards to fill seats.

Duquesne welcomed some of its shrinkage, because enrolling 200 students was “too big and we knew it,” Gormley said.

The school's firs-year enrollment of about 140 students this year is consistent with last year's figure, he said.

“I believe some of this is a re-alignment of the legal profession itself, and most of that is driven by technology itself. Just like newspapers are faced with a dramatic change in the world by technology, and law hasn’t been impacted as dramatically, but it isn’t impervious to these changes,” Gormley said.

“I don’t think there is a need for less lawyers, but I do think how graduates are going to be practicing is going to be changing.”

Land-locked Dickinson Law appoints a Navy Admiral as Interim Dean

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/education/college/penn-state-dickinson-school-of-law-names-interim-dean/article_99bb8d88-ce37-11e2-9dd3-001a4bcf887a.html

A distinguished scholar in residence at both schools, Houck served as the principal military legal counsel to the secretary of the Navy and chief of naval operations and led the 2,300 attorneys, enlisted legal staff and civilian employees of the worldwide Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

Houck once served as deputy legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as principal legal counsel to the commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

Things did not go well at public comment for that Dean

Community scrutinizes Dickinson School of Law plans 

The mood was tense Thursday night as Dean Philip McConnaughay detailed the university’s proposed plan to place first-year law students in the University Park campus and increase specialty programs at the Carlisle campus.

Follow the link to the full article to see just how tense.

The Sentinel weighed in with this editorial

Sentinel View: Law school should honor its agreement

September 22, 2012 9:00 am  •  The Sentinel

(2) Comments

Penn State Dickinson School of Law’s board of directors ought to find an alternative to its proposal to end first-year classes in Carlisle. Its scheme to force students to start their law-school education at State College instead of Carlisle would be bad for the local economy and bad for law students who want to get a full education here. It’s ironic that an institution that teaches students about contract law would so eagerly seek to breach a contract of its own.
Last week, law school’s board of directors said financial pressure will force the college to end first-year classes in Carlisle. Instead, students would be required to begin at State College and then opt to complete their second and third years here. Just seven years ago, that same board signed a deal with the Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority where they promised, in exchange for a $25 million grant to redesign Trickett Hall, to maintain a full three-year law-degree program in Carlisle until at least 2025. The college’s board said the market for legal services has dried up, hence its proposal to cut and run.
While our understanding of contract law is limited, it defies logic that the law school could just arbitrarily decide to ignore its agreement to maintain three-year classes here simply because the economy fell out. It’s not like the $25 million grant didn’t come through, or that the work at Trickett Hall didn’t get completed. Local officials held up their end of the bargain; shouldn’t the law school? This obviously is a ploy to shut down the law school. How many students who start at State College will arbitrarily decide to transfer to Carlisle for their second and/or third years?
Times are tough for all sectors, and law schools are no exception. But it’s important for the law school to set a model for its students and honor its agreement, no matter how onerous it may be seven years into it. Carlisle needs a full three-year law-degree program available to students. Offering only second- and third-year education is cutting the community and its potential law students short."

Pretty Obviously a Non-Starter from the Beginning

Dickinson law school plans up for discussion

The school is attempting to address a combined deficit and place both of its locations on a path to sustained economic self-sufficiency by dramatically cutting costs and increasing non-J.D. tuition revenues, while simultaneously preserving the excellence of our academic program and not raising J.D. tuition appreciably, McConnaughay said.

The school still needs the consent of the Dickinson Law Association, the county Redevelopment Authority.

I'll tell you which campus they should shut down, but I don't think they'll like it.  Why the Commonwealth was willing to spend the money to build that monument to vanity, I'll never understand.

The treachery continues.....Eliminate the Junior year at DSL

Long after the new law school was built in State College, and after the pedophilia scandal started John Dickinson twirling in his grave, the Dean of DSL made yet another push to totally destroy the historic institution in Carlisle by eliminating the first year of law school at the real DSL campus.  This made perfect sense because, after all, there's nothing students like to do more than move once to start at a new school and then move again to continue at a different campus, right?  No?  This was a new scheme to destroy the real DSL.

Here's the article published in the Sentinel when he first began to push this crazy scheme:

End to first-year law classes at Dickinson law school in Carlisle proposed
  and here's an excerpt from the article:

 Under the proposal by Dean Philip McConnaughay, all Penn State law students would start in State College, perhaps beginning as early as 2013. The Carlisle campus would continue to hold classes for second- and third-year students, including both in-person instruction and access to University Park classes through distance-learning technology.

The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News says the program would result in a student body significantly smaller than the 250 students once planned there.

The paper says the plan has drawn opposition from members of the Dickinson Law Association, a vestige of the independent school that merged with Penn State in 1997, the board of which retains review authority over some aspects of the dual campus agreement.

 Really?  Opposition?

 

Back in Business!

Six years after losing control of this blog thanks to one company buying out another company and then being bought out by yet another company, etc., etc., I just got a response from the current owner, Google, and they got me all set up to post to this blog again!  Lots of news about DSL and that other school.  Will get caught up as soon as I can.

Parting company and may the better man win

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/psu-dickinson-dean-faculty-opt-to-split-accreditation-of-carlisle/article_4f116110-3326-11e2-be26-001a4bcf887a.html

The Penn State Dickinson School of Law has halted its controversial quest to end first-year classes in Carlisle.

Citing political outcry and a general misunderstanding by the public of the school’s plans, Dean Philip McConnaughay said Tuesday that the school would no longer pursue the requirement of having first-year law students attend classes at University Park.

Instead, the school will seek separate accreditations for its campuses in Carlisle and University Park, McConnaughay said.

That plan needs the approval of the American Bar Association.

In an email sent Tuesday to students, McConnaughay noted that the school would remain a single academic unit of Penn State, but each of the campuses would develop and implement separate identities, separate admissions policies and separate educational programs.

The set-up would be similar to other programs at universities such as Rutgers, Indiana and Arkansas, McConnaughay said.

Unfortunately, Penn State will probably find a way to rig the game.

Dickinson School of Law dedicates renovated building

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/dickinson-school-of-law-dedicates-renovated-building/article_d5f8d695-a65b-5b90-8394-eb9b4a1e04b7.html
April 16, 2010 12:00 am

For Lewis Katz, Carlisle was his coming of age as a student of the Dickinson School of Law Class of 1966.

The veteran attorney returned Friday to where he started his law career, just across the street at historic Trickett Hall.

“As I think about this community, the wonderful memory is of a small town that gave you a feeling of caring,” Katz told an audience of more than 500 who celebrated the dedication of the newly renovated and expanded Carlisle campus.

Katz was a student when everyone had to attend classes on Saturday. Looking back, he thought it was a great idea because it kept the students in Carlisle over the weekend and their thoughts focused on study.

“I’ve been blessed in a material way,” Katz said during his speech under the tent. “The source of that fortune came from preparation. That preparation came from a group of country lawyers who devoted their time and energy to teaching young men.”

Minutes later, Katz was standing in line with a pair of scissors cutting the ribbon to the building named in his honor in recognition of his $15 million gift to Penn State University Dickinson School of Law. The Lewis Katz Hall was completed in December and hosted its first classes in January.

‘Look to the future’

The ceremony Friday marked the end of a year-long celebration honoring the 175th anniversary of Dickinson School of Law, which held its first class on April 1, 1834. The oldest law school in Pennsylvania, Dickinson operates buildings in both Carlisle and State College making it the only unified, two-location law school approved by the American Bar Association.

Penn State spent more than $130 million over the last several years to build the Lewis Katz building at University Park along with the improved facilities in Carlisle. Richard Olcott was the lead architect on the dual campus building project as a design partner with Polshek Partnership Architects.

Olcott called the experience “a wild ride” between the two extremes of totally demolishing the Trickett Hall campus to remodeling all its old buildings. A compromise was reached where some buildings were taken down to make room for the Lewis Katz Hall and its 250-seat auditorium/courtroom, three classrooms, several seminar rooms, a student commons area and study space.

From the start, the challenge was how to develop a law school with a “unified identity in a binary reality,” Olcott said. What came out of the planning was a renovated Trickett Hall housing a law library named for H. Laddie Montague Jr., a Philadelphia trial attorney who donated $4 million toward the project.

For Olcott, it made sense to house the library in the old building to recognize the historic legacy Trickett Hall represents. As for Lewis Katz Hall, it became a venue for advanced video-conferencing technology allowing for real-time interaction between faculty and students at both campuses and around the world.

“We can look to the future without erasing the past,” Olcott said.

‘It wasn’t easy’

Gov. Ed Rendell explained how the dual campus concept came out of tough talks between Penn State and advocates for keeping a law school presence in town. The state helped by providing a $25 million grant that was used in the Trickett Hall renovation project.

“It wasn’t easy,” Rendell recalled. “There were many twists and turns, but we kept it in Carlisle. We got it right for the benefit of future law school students who will do so much good for so many causes.”

Steve Garban is chairman of the Penn State Board of Trustees. He called the ceremony Friday a great day for the University and the law school.

“Trickett Hall is looking fantastic,” Garban said. “The law school is the new model for legal education. It combines the stateliness of Trickett Hall with the emerging of new technology. The value of this building will be seen through the generations of students.”

First-year students Allison Gerhart and Rebekah Saidman-Krauss chose Carlisle over State College because Carlisle offered a small town feel without the distractions of a large university town.

“I’m glad they’ve elected to keep the Carlisle campus,” said Gerhart, adding she feels privileged to be a part of law school history. Saidman-Krauss thought Penn State has done a good job balancing the fine points of its Carlisle location with those of University Park.

Growth trend

The future of a continued law school presence in Carlisle ultimately will be decided by the administration, Saidman-Krauss said. She added that as long as there are students like herself and Gerhart, Penn State will also have the demographic who prefers the Carlisle campus.

Attorney Brian Addison of York is a 1979 graduate of Dickinson School of Law. He thought the idea of a two-location law school was a good idea because it combined the resources of University Park with all the traditional benefits of having the Carlisle campus in a county seat near the state capital.

Before the dual campus concept, Dickinson School of Law was only able to draw 1,600 student applications each year, Dean Philip McConnaughay said. Applications for the 2011 academic year have exceeded 5,300 and the current student body is the most diverse in the school’s history.

McConnaughay added, in recent years, the law school has been able to recruit some of the world’s leading legal scholars and pioneers in the field. It has also introduced new programs including one where students spend an entire semester in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., immersed in the workings of state and federal government.

Law school names new board members, including one of my classmates

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/law-school-names-new-board-members/article_8fc192c4-e28a-5820-aaaf-507e11905973.html

February 03, 2010 12:00 am  •  By staff reports

Penn State University Dickinson School of Law appointed U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones III and James L. Patton Jr., chairman of Delaware law firm Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, to its board of counselors on Jan. 23.

A 1980 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law, Jones was appointed to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in 2002 by then President George W. Bush, a news release from the Carlisle-based law school says.

A native of Pottsville, Jones began his legal career as a clerk to Guy Bowe, president judge of Schuylkill County. He then joined Dolbin & Cori, where he later became a named partner. In 1986, Jones began his private practice, John Jones & Associates.

Jones served as co-chair for Gov. Tom Ridge’s labor and industry transition team. In 1995, he was nominated by Ridge to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and later appointed as chairman, a position he held until his appointment to the bench. Jones was named by Time magazine as one of the world’s most influential people in 2006 for his landmark decision in the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover School District case, when he ruled that it was unconstitutional to teach intelligent design within a public school science curriculum.

Patton is a 1983 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law and, in addition to serving as chairman of Young Conaway, he is a partner in its bankruptcy and corporate restructuring section.

He is nationally recognized for his representation of large troubled companies and his involvement in complex asbestos bankruptcies. Patton has been ranked as a leading bankruptcy/restructuring lawyer in legal publications.

He is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and chair of the American Bar Association’s Claims Trading Subcommittee. He is also a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and serves as chairman of the Chapter 11 Committee of the Bankruptcy Law Section of the Delaware Bar Association.

The Dickinson Law School board of counselors provides advice and strategic guidance to the law school and offers input on external relations from a broad range of important constituencies.

The current board members include Ridge, a 1972 graduate; U.S. Court of Appeals Judge D. Brooks Smith, a 1976 graduate; U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia Rambo, a 1962 graduate; businessman and philanthropist Lewis Katz, a 1966 graduate; board chair and noted corporate lawyer H. Laddie Montague Jr. a 1963 graduate; and Alcoa assistant general counsel Judith Nocito, a 1977 graduate.

Construction update at the destruction of Trickett Hall

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/sentinel-morning-update-dickinson-school-of-law-opens/article_c103c211-0138-56dc-9a39-1f6d6113bb81.html

From the outside of Trickett Hall, the building looks, more or less, as it did when it was built in 1918.

But on the inside, it’s a whole new, more modern look — something Kate MacKenzie, a third-year student, likes.

The Texas native said she’s happy the school opted to keep the brick facade of Trickett Hall while updating the building’s interior.

Dickinson School of Law reopens Carlisle campus -- Interior of Trickett Hall destroye. No more grand staircases

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/the-trials-of-vermont-law-school/Content?oid=2435029

January 12, 2010 12:00 am  •  By Greg Gross, Sentinel Reporter, January 12, 2010

Construction was still evident Monday outside Lewis Katz Hall on the campus of Dickinson School of Law.

Crews worked steadily to finish construction efforts on both the new hall and the renovated Trickett Hall.

But that didn’t stop law students from returning to classes at the historic campus situated on South College and West South streets in Carlisle.

Monday was the first day back for students.

Inside the buildings it was business as normal as students, some toting books and notepads in their arms, shuffled down the corridors while others worked on laptops in common areas.

Every once in a while, a construction worker or someone working to set up the school’s extensive audiovisual systems would walk past.

“It’s a world of difference,” said Adam Deluca, a second-year student, of the new building.

Deluca said he spent time on the campus before renovation and construction work began, as well as at the former Advantica building, the law school’s temporary home along Harrisburg Pike in Middlesex Township.

The school moved to its temporary location in 2006 when work was about to begin at the Carlisle campus. Those temporary digs cannot compete with the newly remodeled and constructed buildings, Deluca said.

“It’s a lot nicer then staring at a truck stop across the street,” he said, referring to the former Advantica building.

Classic exterior, modern interior

From the outside of Trickett Hall, the building looks, more or less, as it did when it was built in 1918.

But on the inside, it’s a whole new, more modern look — something Kate MacKenzie, a third-year student, likes.

The Texas native said she’s happy the school opted to keep the brick facade of Trickett Hall while updating the building’s interior.

The commute to class also got a lot shorter, MacKenzie said.

While the school was located at the former Advantica building a car was required to get her to class; now it’s just a short two-block walk.

“I love walking down here,” MacKenzie said.

However, Deluca said, the new building has its shortcomings.

Though Katz Hall features a host of places to sit and study, Deluca said, they aren’t exactly private. Most of the seating is in common areas in the corridors.

Parking is limited, he added, and could cause some problems when it comes to finding a parking space close to the campus.

Advanced technology

Despite its downfalls, officials say the new law school boasts many more positives.

The H. Laddie Montague Jr. Law Library is updated and covers three floors; it boasts private study rooms and an endless supply of research materials.

Each lecture room has the latest teaching tools that allow classes at the Carlisle campus to connect via a high-definition, digital audiovisual telecommunications system with classes taught at both University Park and around the world, said Nancy LaMont, the assistant dean for administration.

One sports law class recently linked up with students in Illinois, British Columbia, Australia and Cape Town, South Africa.

The law school is the only one in the nation to boast such technology, LaMont said.

“We’re the nation’s pilot program,” she said.

The video equipment also allows students to view their performances in the 200-seat courtroom/auditorium. One camera is strategically positioned behind the jury box so students can see how they look when addressing jurors during class or mock trials.

Each class is also recorded and the recordings are kept for 14 days and are available to be viewed online by students of the classes, LaMont said.

With the world of law turning to technology as a means to cut costs and make the judicial process more streamlined, knowledge in technology learned at the school will transcend to the workplace, she added.

“Our students are going to be ahead of the game,” LaMont said.

Campus nears completion ----- and the squeaky floor was part of the charm.

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/dickinson-school-of-law-campus-nears-completion/article_fbd9d2ac-ed05-5bfe-8c6e-91a0daf659a1.html

December 17, 2009 12:00 am  •  By Joseph Cress, Sentinel Reporter, December 17, 2009

The squeaky floor is gone from inside Trickett Hall, but none of the memories have left the place for George Cornelius.

The current secretary of the state Department of Community and Economic Development toured the renovated Carlisle campus of Dickinson School of Law Wednesday.

Dean Philip McConnaughay said contractors have only cosmetic work to complete on the $50 million renovation and expansion to the 91-year-old Trickett Hall. He expects construction to wrap up on Jan. 4.

Staff and faculty will begin moving over equipment this Friday from the Advantica building in Middlesex Township, McConnaughay said. Plans are to use next week to unpack and prepare the campus for the return of students on Jan. 11, the start of the spring 2010 semester.

A 1983 DSL graduate, Cornelius said he wished such a modern facility was available when he was a law school student. Walking through Trickett Hall brought back memories of him being the law clerk for the late Judge Dale Shughart, who had a corner office in the building.

“He was such a fixture of the school,” Cornelius said. “He was a character.”

The project began in January 2008 with the demolition of the 1963 and 1978 additions to Trickett Hall along with “the curtilage,” a collection of small brick buildings on South College Street that once served as faculty offices.

Lewis Katz Hall was constructed in the area between Trickett Hall and the 1985 addition. It includes three seminar rooms, three large classrooms, two conference rooms, a courtyard, a commons area and a 200-seat courtroom/auditorium.

Each lecture space is equipped with state-of-the-art technology allowing classes at the Carlisle campus to be connected electronically with classes taught at both the University Park location and around the world, McConnaughay said.

He explained how Dickinson School of Law is unique among law schools for being accredited by the American Bar Association for both its distance education curriculum and its dual campus concept.

New law library

Trickett Hall, meanwhile, has been renovated to house the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Law Library, a legislative hearing room and an audio-visual server and control room. Nancy Lamont, assistant dean for admissions, explained how part of the work involved the restoration of the columns at the main entrance to Trickett Hall, which were heavily damaged by wood rot.

McConnaughay said the Carlisle campus has capacity for 400 to 500 students and 100 staff and faculty. With the Carlisle campus now complete, Penn State plans to continue the development of its School of International Affairs through a broader relationship with both Dickinson College and the Army War College, McConnaughay said. “That has a lot of potential of becoming increasingly significant over the years.”

Cornelius said he is very impressed not only by the renovated Carlisle campus, but by how the law school has so improved its standing in recent years that it has been able to draw world-class faculty. “It is a gem for the town,” he added.

The 1985 addition has been renovated to house faculty and administrative offices, a cafe and rooms for seminars and interviews.

On target for December

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/law-school-project-on-target-for-december/article_a8f83db6-5393-592d-b9ca-7019c36b5489.html

September 04, 2009 12:00 am  •  By Joseph Cress, Sentinel Reporter, September 4, 2009

Work is on schedule for classes to begin in January 2010 at the Trickett Hall campus of the Penn State University Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle.

The university is expecting substantial completion of the Trickett Hall expansion and renovation project by late October, said Nancy Lamont, assistant dean for admissions.

The plan is for Penn State to move in new furniture and install audio-visual equipment by late November into early December, Lamont said.

All the computers, servers, phones, files and library books should be moved from storage and the Advantica building in Middlesex Township to the campus by Dec. 19 — one day after the last student final exam. Everything should be in place and ready by Jan. 11, the start of the spring 2010 semester, Lamont said.

Dean Philip McConnaughay said the structural work related to the project is complete. Crews are now installing the finishes, which include new light fixtures, ceiling tiles, carpeting and terrazzo floors.

Faculty members have been given tours of the Carlisle campus, McConnaughay said.

“We are happy about it. It is a beautiful project,” he said.

A dedication ceremony is planned for April 16.

The project began in January 2008 with the demolition of the 1963 and 1978 additions to Trickett Hall along with “the curtilage,” a collection of small brick buildings on South College Street that once served as faculty offices.

Lewis Katz Hall was constructed in the area between Trickett Hall and the 1985 addition. It includes three large classrooms, a courtyard, a commons area and a 200-seat courtroom/auditorium.

Trickett Hall, meanwhile, was renovated to house the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Law Library, a legislative hearing room and an audio-visual server and control room.

The 1985 addition has been renovated to house faculty and administrative offices, a cafe and rooms for seminars and interviews.

A small fire July 22 at the 1985 addition caused some damage to the roof of the building. It started when workers at the site were testing an emergency generator. There was a problem reported with the exhaust pipe and some combustible material that was too close to it.

Quick response from the Carlisle fire department kept the damage confined to a small area, McConnaughay said.

This is just wrong.

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/law-school-graduation-moves-locations/article_fe35064d-9e76-5465-beb5-248350e79b98.html

May 07, 2009 12:00 am  •  By staff reports, May 7, 2009

Dickinson School of Law graduation ceremonies will move to State College Saturday as part of the new dual campus agreement.

The agreement calls for commencement to take place in Carlisle every other year.

The law school will host a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Holland Union Building Social Hall at Dickinson College.

Otherwise, all commencement activities will be held in State College at the Eisenhower Auditorium and the new 114,000-square-foot Lewis Katz Building. Buses will depart Carlisle at 11 a.m. to transport Carlisle area residents to the Saturday ceremonies.

The law school’s class of 2009 is the 130th class to go through formal graduation ceremonies and the first to attend ceremonies in University Park. A Dickinson School of Law alumnus, Katz is serving as the commencement speaker.

Owner of the New Jersey Nets and a member of the Board of Governors of the National Basketball Association, Katz donated $15 million toward the law school.

Katz is a shareholder in the New York Yankees and a former owner of the New Jersey Devils hockey team. In each of those enterprises, he pledged a share of team profits to benefit inner-city youth.

Katz is of counsel to Katz, Ettin & Levine, the law firm he founded in Cherry Hill, N.J. He is the former owner of Kinney Parking Systems, the largest parking company in New York City, and the former chairman of Interstate Outdoor Advertising, one of the largest regional outdoor-advertising firms in the country.

Buses will depart the Advantica Building at 11 a.m. and arrive at Eisenhower Auditorium at 1 p.m. For the return, the buses will depart the Katz Building at 5 p.m. and arrive at the Advantica Building at 7 p.m. There will be shuttle buses between the Eisenhower Auditorium and the Katz Building for the reception.

Dickinson School of Law completed a merger with Penn State University in 2000, and in 2006 added a second law school to the University Park campus. It currently operates from University Park and Carlisle as the only American Bar Association-approved unified two-location law school.