Chapman Gamble Pays Off

Chapman University can rightly take pride in the American Bar Assn.’s recent decision to grant provisional accreditation to its school of law.

The school’s opening in 1995 constituted a bold gamble. At that time, there was no accredited law school in Orange County. Students entered with the expectation, but without the guarantee, that their school would win the credential sometime during their stay. The accreditation would enable graduates to take a bar exam anywhere in the country.

It was a rocky road for many in the inaugural class. They shouldered their studies with great uncertainty about what would be ahead for them as the first graduating class in May of this year.

Last year, the school had difficulty with its first petition and was forced to improve its library and institute a stiffer grading curve. Parham Williams became dean last June with a mandate to toughen things up. But the pressure on all took its toll. The university gave an estimated $1.25 million in tuition refunds to at least 48 students. Thirty-one other students or former students took complaints of being mistreated to court. As Chapman traveled the bumpy path to accreditation, Whittier College moved its law school to Costa Mesa last year, providing the county with its first ABA-accredited school in nearly two decades.

For the faculty, students and administration at Chapman, the news of provisional accreditation, which is a standard procedure, was a just reward for their patience and hard work. For the 190 students who stuck it out, and the 58 who are expected to participate in the school’s first graduation ceremony, victory is sweet.

Chapman deserves credit for its patience and persistence in making the necessary changes and for its overall vision.

Now, all associated with the fledgling law school have the satisfaction of knowing that their school has provided the county with a resource to feed its legal community with locally trained talent.