Summary: Rutgers University is hoping to receive all the approvals they need to merge their two law schools into one law school on two campuses.
Rutgers first entertained the idea of merging their law schools in 2011 but Gov. Chris Christie suggested merging Rutgers-Camden with Rowan University since they were close in proximity. That merger fell through so they went back to their original idea.
They are one step closer to making the merger real. They received approval from the Accreditation Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. They now await approval by the council of the section, which meets July 31st. The Rutgers University board of governors granted approval reliant on the ABA’s approval.
The campuses will have “co-deans” instead of one main dean to eliminate one campus from feeling disconnected. University officials feared this would happen if they had a single executive dean located on just one campus. The University hopes to be able to welcome their students this fall as a single law school.
The merger will result in one admissions office and the choice by accepted students to pick which campus they want to attend. The faculty will be available to law school students at both campuses. They believe this model will enable students to benefit from more world-class faculty and have greater opportunities to advance their career searches.
The law schools started off as one but were split in 1967.
Source: http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202731107317/Merger-of-Rutgers-Law-Schools-Nears-Reality
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