Penn State believes it has two good law schools.

It would like to have one excellent one.

With that vision in mind, President Neeli Bendapudi on Tuesday announced her intention to unify the two existing fully accredited Penn State law schools into one entity, and the creation of a task force aimed at recommending that best way for that to happen.

Bendapudi made the announcement to staff, faculty and students at the two schools through a meeting Tuesday via conference call.

The decision has roots that go back to the university’s merger with the then-independent Dickinson School of Law in 1997.

The Carlisle campus was targeted for closure several years later during the administration of former Penn State President Graham Spanier, who supported an effort to relocate the law school to the University Park campus in State College.

After a contentious debate that went all the way to the governor’s office, Penn State built a law school building at University Park and continued to operate the Carlisle campus as a single, united, two-campus law school.

Separate schools

The two schools were split into two, separately accredited law schools - Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle and Penn State Law at University Park - beginning in 2014.

On its face, the current system seems to have worked well:

The latest U.S. News law school rankings have Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle ranked 58th nationally, with Penn State Law at University Park 64th. Bendapudi noted that puts both in the top five of Pennsylvania’s nine accredited law schools.

But problems have begun to surface, Bendapudi told PennLive Tuesday, including difficulty in finding a permanent dean for Penn State Law because of concerns over Penn State’s unique model and its long-term sustainability in the face of expected declines in future law school applications for admission; and budgetary pressures that come with subsidizing two separate law campuses.

Add it all together, Bendapudi said, and it’s her belief that “competing against ourselves may not be the way to go ... for us to be outstanding and excellent.

“Both Penn State Dickinson Law and Penn State Law have been successful in delivering their outstanding programs of legal education since their separate accreditation; however, it’s clear that bringing Penn State’s two law schools back together as one is the best way to serve law students and, I believe, the right path forward for legal education, including teaching, scholarship, service and community, at Penn State,” Bendapudi said.

Debt clearance

There is an important time element to the discussion as well -- in 2025, Penn State gets free and clear of a 20-year commitment to operate the law school in Carlisle in exchange for a $25 million in state funds to support renovations here.

That could reignite old concerns in Carlisle and in the greater Dickinson School of Law alumni community about a potential closure of the Carlisle campus, if only because it is smaller and doesn’t enjoy the economies that come with being a part of the larger University Park campus.

In the current academic year, Dickinson School of Law has 256 students; Penn State Law at University Park has 394.

But Penn State officials noted Tuesday a separate 2016 agreement between Penn State and the Dickinson Law Association stipulated that “except as otherwise determined by the Board of Trustees and confirmed for good cause by a court of law,” the commitment to the Carlisle campus exists as long as Penn State operates one or more accredited full term operational schools or school of law.

That agreement was put in place after the separate accreditation of the schools was agreed to.

Bendapudi and other university officials said Tuesday no final decisions have been made about the next iteration of Penn State Law; that will be at the heart, she said, of what the task force is being commissioned to look at.

But in her initial recommendations, Bendapudi has indicated a preference to keep the primary location of the law school in Carlisle, owing to its proximity to the state Capitol and the opportunities that represents, and the school’s historic roots.

That includes, Bendapudi said, Penn State law school operations will being headquartered in Carlisle, and led by the Penn State Dickinson Law Dean.

Student commitment

Bendapudi also said Penn State is committed to fully supporting all current students as well as students enrolling in the fall 2023 semester with legal education both in Carlisle and University Park through spring 2026, including complete bar exam preparation and job placement support.

Penn State also said that no changes in current faculty and staff at Penn State Dickinson Law or Penn State Law will be made by the University administration until the panel makes its final recommendations at the end of the spring semester and after all final approvals have been attained.

The unification panel will include representation from students, faculty, staff and alumni of Penn State Dickinson Law and Penn State Law, Bendapudi said, and will be chaired by Penn State Dickinson Law Dean Danielle Conway. Its final recommendations regarding the structure of the united law school will also go before the Board of Trustees for final approval.

But Trustees Chairman Matt Schuyler gave his blessing to Bendapudi’s initial decision on unification Tuesday.

“The board supports the consideration of reuniting our two law schools into one, as this outcome would likely enhance the University’s legal education offerings, while helping to achieve the broader goal of being effective stewards of our resource,” Schuyler said in a statement accompanying Bendapudi’s announcement.

Penn State has canceled the dean search for a permanent dean at Penn State Law at University Park in the wake of the new reunification plan.