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The University of California San Diego is reviving a plan to establish a law school through a partnership with California Western School of Law. There are no concrete plans yet but ongoing discussions indicate a variety of options are on the table. These options include a strengthened affiliation between California Western and UCSD to a full merger.
This month faculty and administrators from both schools formed a committee to explore a partnership. Leaders from both schools stressed that if a school of law were created it would be self-supporting and not involve state or UCSD campus funds initially. Supporters of the partnership believe it could advance research collaborations, provide more opportunities for students and raise the prestige of both schools.
Critics are concerned about the viability of the financial model the research committee has proposed and whether there is a mismatch between San Diego’s focus on research and California Western’s on teaching. Five UC law schools already exist and some question the need for another.
Since the early 1980s UCSD has had aspirations of building a law school. A similar merger was rejected at that time. An official recommendation on the new proposal will not be forth coming until later in the year.
