Tennessee Regulators Reject Valparaiso Law School Move

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Tennessee regulators rejected a plan to move Valparaiso University’s struggling law school to Middle Tennessee State University, casting uncertainty on the future of the northwestern Indiana law school.

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission voted 8-5 to deny the school’s transfer to Middle Tennessee’s Murfreesboro campus.

The two schools’ governing boards had endorsed the transfer agreement in October, nearly a year after Valparaiso announced that the private college’s law school was facing severe financial challenges.

Valparaiso officials said in a statement that they were disappointed by the commission’s vote, and would continue providing the opportunity for students currently enrolled in its law program “to complete their legal education through Valparaiso University Law School in a timely manner.”

The statement did not address what future options remained for the law school, and school spokeswoman Nicole Niemi said Tuesday that the university had no additional comment.

The law school was founded in 1879 on Valparaiso University’s campus in Valparaiso, about 15 miles southeast of Gary.

MTSU officials had championed the law school’s proposed move to the Murfreesboro campus, saying that it would give students in central Tennessee the option to study law at a public university close to their home.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said in a statement after the vote that there were “concerns about competition by the state’s two existing public law schools.”

Tennessee’s public law schools reside at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and the University of Memphis in Memphis.

McPhee said the commission’s decision “denies a legal education to Nashville-area students financially unable to attend an expensive, nearby accredited private institution or unable to relocate to a public institution hundreds of miles away in Knoxville or Memphis.”

If the transfer had been allowed, the MTSU law school would have been the seventh in Tennessee.

Law School At Valparaiso University Plans To Cease Operations

Valparaiso, Ind. – Valparaiso University, a private university located in Valparaiso, Indiana, announced the University’s decision to continue to teach-out the current Law School students in a timely manner and cease operations.

The University will work closely with its relevant accreditors, the Higher Learning Commission and the American Bar Association (ABA), to continue with its plan to teach-out the remaining law students. Currently, there are approximately 100 second- and third-year law students enrolled in the Law School.

The University administration pursued a number of alternative strategies to transition the Law School, including an educational collaboration with Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission voted not to permit MTSU to create a juris doctor program. As a result, the option for Valparaiso University to transfer its law school to MTSU was no longer available. This led to the University’s decision to complete the teach-out of current law students and cease operations.

In November 2017, Valparaiso University announced its decision to suspend admission of a first-year law school class in fall 2018, and its intention to pursue strategic alternatives regarding the financial viability of the Law School. Significantly declining law school enrollment, especially in the Great Lakes region, and a lessening demand for those entering the legal profession significantly impacted the sustainability of the Law School.

“This has been an extremely difficult decision and is the result of several years of careful discernment,” said Frederick G. Kraegel, chairman of the Board of Directors of Valparaiso University. “We have explored a number of strategic alternatives. Despite these efforts, we have not been able to achieve a more positive outcome.”

Founded in 1879 and fully accredited by the ABA since 1929, the Law School has educated thousands of successful law graduates who lead and serve across the nation. •

Source: Valparaiso University