SYSTEM TOO LEAN ? PART IV : NEXT STEPS
SYSTEM TOO LEAN ? PART IV : NEXT STEPS
KATHRYN R . L . RAND Dean , University of North Dakota School of Law
In 2017 , I wrote a series of columns titled “ System Too Lean ?” to share with our bench and bar the impacts of the University ’ s implementation of the second round of deep budget cuts at the School of Law . While we have long prided ourselves on “ doing a lot with very little ,” I concluded in those columns the law school had reached the point our “ check engine ” light is on , indicating we have something we need to fix . This spring , a consultants ’ report confirmed that conclusion .
At the request of UND ’ s President and Provost , two former law deans – Jerry Parkinson , former dean at Wyoming College of Law and now emeritus faculty , and Peter Goplerud , former dean at several law schools , most recently Florida Coastal School of Law and currently president of InfiLaw Management Solutions – visited the law school earlier this year . They had conversations with faculty and staff , as well as with a few alumni and members of the bench and bar . They reviewed numerous documents concerning the law school , including our most recent ABA reaccreditation reports . The consultants observed :
We were struck by how much progress the law school had made by the time
20 THE GAVEL of its most recent reaccreditation [ in February 2016 ]. Through the leadership of Dean Rand and others [ including the state ’ s leadership and legislature ], the law school addressed its most pressing accreditation issue – the law school building . The facility improvements are exceptional . But in addition to the building , the law school had made substantial strides in other areas , addressing serious shortcomings ( mostly related to resources ) highlighted in earlier accreditation reports [ from 2009 ].
By ABA accreditation standards , the UND law school seemed to have reached a new level of excellence as recently as February 2016 . [ The February 2016 ABA accreditation ] report highlighted a robust tenured / tenure track faculty of 18 ( with the expectation of an additional tenure track hire ), a modest but active clinical program . . ., and a substantial commitment to lawyering skills and legal writing . To those outside of the legal profession , that last area of excellence might not seem exciting , but strong writing skills are essential to success in law practice ( not to mention bar passage rates ) . . . . UND ’ s legal writing program was poised for real distinction . . . .
We are heartened to see these affirmations of the law school ’ s strategic trajectory in recent years . I want to take this opportunity to thank once again our state legislature and leadership , our state bench and bar , and our alumni and friends who have supported the law school . That “ new level of excellence ” noted by the consultants is the result of a team effort – as North Dakota ’ s law school , we are very , very grateful for the ongoing support of our state and stakeholders .
However , the report also observed the reality that things are different now than they were in 2016 :
Unfortunately , economic downturns . . . have resulted in substantial , acrossthe-board budget cuts at UND , and administrators have been faced with hard choices . The law school , of course , has not been immune from those cuts , so the progress the school had made in the years leading up to 2016 has now eroded . With the exception of the building improvements , accreditation metrics suggest that the law school more readily resembles the law school of 2007 than it does the law school of 2014 or 2016 . . . . The current size of the law school ’ s tenured / tenure track faculty is down to 13 . . ., the clinical program has ended , and the lawyering skills / legal writing program has been weakened . . . .
We certainly understand that the law school must “ share the pain ” of the budget cuts , but we hope it can garner the support of numerous stakeholders – the UND central administration , the state bench and bar , the State Board of Higher Education , the state legislature – as it considers possible initiatives that will permit it not only to return to its strength of just a couple of years ago , but also to move forward to even greater heights in the future . . . .