The Wilkes University Board of Trustees voted to suspend work on the Law School Planning Initiative.
Spurred by a difficult economy, the decision enables the university to focus strategic resources on its highest priority, renovations to Stark Learning Center, which houses the university’s science, health and engineering programs.
Wilkes University President Tim Gilmour said the decision to table the law school planning initiative reflects the University’s commitment to its core mission of educating undergraduates.
The Stark renovations will include construction of new 21st century laboratories that will allow for collaborative learning between the sciences, health professions and engineering. It also will be programmed to address two of the region’s most pressing issues – energy and medicine.
“I am proud of the work and support the law school project generated. Our legal and political communities strongly embraced this idea. I know their support will be there for us when, almost certainly, we revisit the initiative,” Gilmour said. “I also know there will be disappointment, especially among many potential students, but in a time of scarce resources and competing priorities, even at a very healthy institution like Wilkes University, some important projects must give way to others.”
The Wilkes Law School Initiative began in 2004 as an idea the administration sought to pursue. It gained momentum when Loren “Chip” Prescott was appointed dean of the Law School in 2008. He conducted the University’s feasibility study and was given the directive to complete a business plan for the project.
“I recognize the wisdom of this decision — that in a time of scarce resources and competing priorities, some important projects must give way to others,” Prescott said. “The Stark Learning Center program is an exciting project that can help the region grow in important areas like energy and the biomedical sciences.”
