The State Bar Association of North Dakota Summer 2013 Gavel Magazine | Page 8

FROM THE DEAN Dean, UND School of Law Kathryn Rand tion of funding for an addition and renovation of the University of North Dakota School of Law. The bill provides $11.4 million in funding from the North Dakota State Legislature. Our project was funded at 95 percent of our request, with the remaining 5 percent held in a pool by the State Board of Higher Education with the future possibility of obtaining some additional funding if necessary. Are there floor plans or blueprints for the building project? Not yet. With the state appropriation, our first significant step will be to retain an architect in Summer 2013. We expect to spend Fall 2013 working with the architect on the careful planning that will result in the floor plans and other architectural drawings for the project. How will the architect be selected? Through an Agency Selection Committee appointed by the University. The Agency Selection Committee serves in an advisory capacity to the University’s Vice President for Finance and Operations on issues relating to the selection of architect, engineer, construction management and land surveying services by the University as identified in North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) 54-44.7. NDCC requires the University to negotiate contracts for services on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualifications for the particular type of services required. The Agency Selection Committee makes recommendations regarding the selection of the most qualified person or firm for the project at hand. UPDATE: In July 2013 the University issued a Request for Professional Architectural Services for the School of Law Addition and Renovation. When will construction begin? As we’re just starting the process of the architectural planning for the addition and renovation, we’re not sure exactly when construction will begin. To allow the careful planning this historic project requires, and to minimize disruption during the 2013-2014 academic year, we anticipate that construction likely will begin in May 2014. Will there be an entirely new building? No. Our project is for a major addition to and renovation of our existing building. Will the law school shut down during construction? No. We’ll be open and fully operational, just not entirely in the existing law school building. We’re currently working with the University to identify suitable space on campus to move portions of our operations during construction. How excited are you about the building project? Let’s just say we’re ready to raise the roof! We’d greatly appreciate your help in answering new questions! Please email or call us with questions to add to the FAQ page. You can email me at kathryn. [email protected] or Rob Carolin at [email protected], or you can call the Dean’s Office at [phone]. Oh, and the answers to the three questions mentioned at the outset? “As soon as we can,” “As soon as we can,” and “Absolutely!” Frequently Asked Questions: The School of Law Building Project With the news of North Dakota’s historic investment in the future of the UND School of Law and the legal profession in our state, we’ve already received many questions about the details of our building project. Questions range from “When do you start?” to “When will it be done?” and all the details in between (so far, the most popular question by far has been “Will it have enough bathrooms?”.) As we begin the process of planning the addition and renovation to the School of Law building, we know there will be many more questions along the way. One of our goals in completing the building project is to communicate frequently and effectively with everyone who cares about the School of Law. We want to hear your questions, and to give you informative and timely answers. Toward that end, we’ve begun to gather “frequently asked questions” on our new web page devoted to the School of Law building project (http://law.und.edu/ build/). Here are some of the questions we have posted as I write this in late July; we’ll have even more information about the building project available as you read this, so please visit our web site. What does the passage of Senate Bill 2003 mean for the UND School of Law? SB 200 ???Y\???[?\??X?[??KB?????H?]?[?[[Y\??L??