Addition of law school a plus
New program would enhance current departments and recognition

By James Zwilling
Skiff Staff

The possibility of TCU increasing its national academic reputation with the addition of a school of law first became an issue last semester when the Commission on the Future of TCU released its recommendations for the university. The recommendations included a study on how a law degree would benefit TCU.

When Chancellor Michael Ferrari confirmed March 28 that TCU was discussing a plan to possibly acquire Texas Wesleyan University’s law school, that recommendation quickly came to the forefront of future plans for the university.
However, opponents of the plan believe TCU needs to concentrate on the already existing programs which need work and worry about the exclusivity that may accompany a law program.

Unfortunately, these opinions are the ones that preach exclusiveness. Their programs are suddenly more important than the university as a whole. Certainly, each program at TCU deserves to be the best, whether they are the School of Education or the M.J. Neeley School of Business. What these individuals fail to see is that the addition of a law school will benefit everyone involved and will certainly increase the academic reputation of the university.

Not only would a law school bring greater national recognition, it would also improve existing campus programs. Political science, for instance, already serves as an unofficial pre-law program for many of its students, as do the sociology and criminal justice programs.

Furthermore, TCU would attract more students from around the country and the world with the capabilities to help TCU excel. With a higher quality of students, TCU stands only to improve. Soon it won’t only be about a law school, but with the resources and revenues produced by such a venture, it will be making the “TCU Experience” even better in every area of education.

Now, this doesn’t mean that acquiring Texas Wesleyan’s school of law is necessarily the right move for TCU. After all, in the annual graduate school rankings released by U.S. News and World Report this week, it ranked in the lower end of the fourth tier in a four-tier system. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the program is sub-par, it simply reflects Texas Wesleyan’s position as a fairly new school. After all, the law program is only 12 years old, and it did not gain full approval by the American Bar Association until 1999.

As continuing with tradition, I am to suspect that TCU will only acquire a law program if it is determined that the program would only add to the notability of the university. Whether TCU could transform the Texas Wesleyan program into one of stature consistent with that of TCU is something that greater minds than my own must determine.

Regardless, many students and faculty have expressed great support for a law school at TCU. Therefore, if TCU decides that Texas Wesleyan’s program isn’t right for the university, it is time to begin exploring the option of creating our own school from scratch.

TCU stands only to gain from the addition of such graduate programs, and in light of recent events, it is apparent that they would likely gain support from many students, faculty, staff and community members. It’s time for TCU to explore its ambitions and take this university to the next level.

Opinion editor James Zwilling is a sophomore news-editorial journalism major from Phoenix.
He can be reached at (j.g.zwilling@student.tcu.edu).

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