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Friday, July 01, 2011

Ind. Law - "“It wouldn’t be in our best interest to just start it,” Snyder said, noting the costly salaries associated with its administration and faculty, law library resources and a building"

That is a quote from an editorial today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette titled "Law school’s downtown draw" - some quotes:

If the steady transformation of Indiana Tech’s main campus into an attractive east side gateway is any indication, downtown Fort Wayne is in for a boost with the university’s new law school.

President Arthur Snyder imagines the new program in the heart of the city, adding 400 law students to the current mix of business, health and government workers.

He sees them living in the historic West Central neighborhood, walking to class, frequenting downtown amenities and taking advantage of the Courthouse for real-life lessons in law. * * *

Indiana Tech’s immediate efforts are to establish the academic program. The university already has 35 applicants for the dean’s position and inquiries from about 150 prospective students.

The law school announcement has prompted some complaints, almost all from lawyers and law students.

“The world is not crying to mint more lawyers,” attorney and City Councilman Mitch Harper posted on his Fort Wayne Observed blog.

But Indiana Tech’s feasibility study for the program, posted on its website, shows a thoughtful and thorough examination of the proposal.

“It wouldn’t be in our best interest to just start it,” Snyder said, noting the costly salaries associated with its administration and faculty, law library resources and a building.

What Indiana Tech intends is to fill a void for a law school in this region, to allow greater opportunity for Indiana students to remain in the state for law school and to offer a curriculum with a unique emphasis, possibly a combined law degree and master’s in organizational leadership.

If successful, the Indiana Tech law school should contribute to the development and success of downtown as well.

ILB: Indiana Tech, a private, not-for-profit [corrrected] institution, appears to have found a new law school to be a profit-making venture, perhaps even a "cash cow." The same has been the case nationally for, for instance, "chef's schools."

The plan should also be examined from the proposed students' point of view: will there be jobs for the student when they graduate that pay well enough to pay-down the cost of their degrees without substantial hardship? Should federal loan programs be involved? These questions need to be asked and answered by entities other than the for-profit institution.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 1, 2011 01:27 PM
Posted to Indiana Law