Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law in Carlisle and Pennsylvania State University, Penn State Law in University Park are in the final steps of uniting.
Ten years after splitting the law school between two locations, all that remains are approvals from the submitted applications to the council of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, and then approvals from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the U.S. Department of Education.
The anticipated unified law school will be called Penn State Dickinson Law, led by Danielle Conway, current dean at Dickinson Law, with its primary location in Carlisle and an additional location in University Park.
Pennsylvania State University, which has several campuses throughout Pennsylvania, took over Dickinson School of Law, a private school in Carlisle, in 2000. It planned to move the law school to State College, but it ran into opposition in 2005. It operated the two campuses as one single entity until 2014.
When the number of law school applications dropped, the faculty voted to discontinue first year law classes in Carlisle. However, the university had accepted a $25 million grant from the Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority to upgrade the Carlisle campus, but with the caveat that first-, second- and third-year programs would continue there.
Unable to stop admitting new students in Carlisle, the university chose to separate the two schools, thereby allowing them to have different admissions criteria. Some thought the University Park school would attract higher-quality students from across the nation while the Carlisle school would cater to local students, presumably with lower entering credentials.
But it did not turn out that way with both schools having similar entry criteria and missions.
Neeli Bendapudi, president of Pennsylvania State University, called for a single accredited school in November 2022. A panel was formed in January 2023 to investigate reunification and deliver recommendations, which was completed in May 2023.
In August 2023, Bendapudi adopted the report and authorized a committee to move forward. From the beginning until now, the process took nearly two years.
Dean Conway praised the time and effort invested by executive leadership who supported the road map for reunification.
“We received and considered a wide range of feedback as we managed this process transparently, remaining open to suggestions, criticism and critique,” Conway said. “Being able to pivot and adapt quickly helped us stay ahead in the process.”
Bendapudi thanked everyone involved in the process and said an exciting future is being built for legal education at Penn State.
As Penn State waits for the approvals, faculty will address important governance matters, including the development of unified faculty bylaws, prospective promotion and tenure rules and a unified curriculum. Academic administrators, staff and students will equally be engaged in unifying activities, including portfolio assessments and support coverage, systems planning and implementation, integration of extracurricular programs and processes and maximization of student-centered services and supports.
The applications do not anticipate a change in the current size of the faculty.
School leaders note the anticipated unified law school will aim for a J.D. in-residence class of 200 students per year, with 125 in Carlisle and 75 in University Park.
The LL.M. program will be administered using the framework developed at University Park to support LL.M. students at both locations.
The ABA council’s reunification decision is expected by year end.
