University Park, Pa. -- Penn State President Graham Spanier and Executive Vice President and Provost Rodney Erickson plan to meet with the Board of Governors of the Dickinson School of Law later this week as that group begins a discussion about future directions for the institution.
"Dean Philip McConnaughay brought to our attention some time ago the critical facilities needs that confront the Dickinson School of Law," Spanier said. "We asked him this summer to begin an analysis of the options in Carlisle, but also to think broadly about the best academic interests of our future law students. We asked him to prepare a discussion document that he would share first with the Board of Governors, and then with the larger law school community."
"Friday's meeting is intended to be the first step in that discussion," he said. "A different location for the law school was never contemplated when we merged."
A recent mailing to the law school's Board of Governors notes that Penn State would need to construct a new building for the law school, which could cost as much as $60 million, if the group decides the best future for the institution would be to relocate to main campus -- common among all law schools that are ranked high nationally.
"I am prepared to undertake that kind of fund-raising effort should the Board of Governors pursue that option," Spanier said. "I will communicate that to the board when I meet with them and they have already read about this prospect in the dean's analysis."
"Up until now University officials have not had any discussions with any members of the law school's Board of Governors since our dean's analysis was prepared, so I have no thoughtful feedback at all on this question," Spanier said. "Nor has there been any internal debate since we have not even had an initial discussion of the matter."
Any decision to move the law school will rest initially with the law school's Board of Governors, who have not yet had a chance to discuss the matter, and such a decision would have to be subsequently approved by Penn State's Board of Trustees.
"It would be premature for me to debate the pros and cons of such a move," Spanier said. "It should be obvious that from the standpoint of the faculty in other colleges within the university, there are great opportunities for collaboration across disciplinary lines that would of course be enhanced with greater proximity."
"I am sure the Board of Governors will be mindful of the interests and needs of the community," he said.
"It will be important for them to make a decision based on all of the objective information they can gather," Spanier said. "I am confident that ultimately they are individuals of great wisdom, integrity, and loyalty who will want to do what is in the best long-term interests of the law school, its future students, Penn State, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
The Dickinson School of Law receives no funding from the state.
Penn State University's Dickinson School of Law had the highest July 2003 Pennsylvania Bar Exam passage rate among all Pennsylvania law schools for first-time test takers.
Of the 115 Penn State Dickinson graduates who took the bar exam for the first time in July, 86.96 percent achieved passing scores. This is well above the 77.76 percent passage rate of all first-time applicants who took the Pennsylvania Bar in July.