––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
- Posted July 23, 2013
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Western Michigan University trustees approve affiliation agreement with Cooley Law School
Western Michigan University (WMU) trustees approved an affiliation agreement on Thursday, July 18, that will allow the Thomas M. Cooley Law School to become the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, a move Cooley's board of directors already approved.
In April, WMU trustees affirmed their support for the affiliation and asked that final agreements be brought back for the board to review. During the July meeting, trustees signed off on a measure approving the use of the university's name on the law school and authorizing the administration to take all other actions deemed necessary to effect the affiliation. That includes the authority to execute and deliver all agreements, contracts, instruments and filings, and other documents.
WMU Vice President for Business and Finance Jan Van Der Kley recommended the resolution to the board and remarked on the long, cordial and collaborative relationship between WMU and Cooley. She also noted the benefits to the university that would come from such an affiliation as well as its fit with WMU's strategic plan.
"Today, there are 82 public universities with law schools accredited by the American Bar Association," she said. "WMU will become No. 83."
Earlier this year the two schools announced April 2 that a formal affiliation had been part of an informal three-year discussion by WMU President John M. Dunn and Cooley President and Dean Don LeDuc. During recent months, the discussions broadened to examine the impact an affiliation would have on stakeholders, accreditation, financial responsibilities and growth potential.
"We are delighted that Western Michigan University's Board took this action to expand and enhance our already great relationship," said LeDuc.
The affiliation agreement means Cooley would remain an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) entity but would become known as the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
The next steps in the affiliation process, Van Der Kley said, will be for the schools' respective accrediting agencies--ABA and the Higher Learning Commission for Cooley, and the Higher Learning Commission for WMU--to review the name change agreement that is part of the affiliation accord. That is expected to take place in the fall.
The initiative builds on a long and successful relationship between the two schools that includes a number of existing graduate dual-degree programs and shared physical facilities for a time in the Grand Rapids area. Since announcing the possibility of an affiliation, a number of additional synergies have been discussed. Among them are the possibility of a 3+3 program allowing students to complete their bachelor's and law degrees in just six years; interdisciplinary teaching and research opportunities for faculty; and additional joint course offerings in areas that might focus on the legal environment for business, education, health care or intellectual property.
Published: Tue, Jul 23, 2013
headlines Oakland County
- Annual Dinner & Meeting
- FORCE Team arrests six in prolific auto theft ring
- Michigan allocates $12 million to support community-based organizations in advancing environmental and climate justice
- Oakland County and SMART launch pilot program providing free transit for veterans and dependents
- Supreme Court sides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
headlines National
- More lawyers—and clients—want to learn about sustainable development practices
- Top artificial intelligence insurance tips for lawyers
- Lawyer charged with illegally transmitting Michigan data after 2020 election
- Viral video shows former Rikers Island inmate as she learns she passed bar exam on first try
- How Sullivan & Cromwell is scrutinizing potential new hires after campus protests
- No separate hearing required when police seize cars loaned to drivers accused of drug crimes, SCOTUS rules