Stony Brook University President Shirley Strum Kenny said that the university is looking into establishing a law school from scratch after a reported deal to purchase Touro Law school in Central Islip was declared dead in an interview earlier this week.
The founder and president of Touro College, Dr. Bernard Lander, disputed reports that it was ever thinking about selling.
“Touro Law School's charter was never for sale,” said Lander. “There were no negotiations on this subject."
But building a law school from nothing is easier said than done, according to Roger J. Dennis, the dean of Drexel University’s new College of Law, who laughed when he heard about Stony Brook’s plans.
“Obviously you need capital investment and a long term commitment,” said Dennis. In addition to a mix of at least 10 experienced faculty members its first year, physical spaces such as a library, wired classrooms and trial courts are a must.
Purchasing Touro Law would have avoided these difficult start-up steps, but that option is no longer being considered according to Kenny.
Students and staff share the concerns about the difficulties involved.
Senior Kerry Salzano, a political science and anthropology double major, said she knows it would take a lot to build up to a point where people would actually want to go.
“I would not go to if it was only open for a year or two,” Salzano said. “I would want a school that has connections and history, like Fordham or Columbia.”
“If it was a good law school it would be a tremendous help to the university,” said Jeffrey Segal, the chair of the political science department, but he warned, “a mediocre school would be a much smaller help.”
Segal said that he could see that a law school could be successful financially because costs are not that high to run it, with most resources online that used to only be available as costly textbooks.
But the state would still need to subsidize the costs because tuition alone could not cover it, he said.
Dennis agreed.
“As a rule of thumb, for a good law school you need $25,000 per student for operating costs,” said Dennis.
President Kenny remains dedicated to the prospects of a Stony Brook University law school.
“It’s amazing, it’s something that everybody seems to be in favor of,” said Kenny. “Just pretty remarkable that people feel so strongly. That it’s like, the last piece of putting the Stony Brook campus together.”
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