Proposed UC Irvine Law School Gets Academic Backing

UC Irvine came closer to establishing a law school this week when the Academic Senate gave its unanimous support to the proposal.

The proposed law school would have about 600 students and 33 to 35 tenured faculty members. If the school is approved, the earliest students could enroll would be fall of 2004.

The law school is a long way from reality, however. The proposal now goes to the Academic Council, made up of faculty representatives from all nine UC campuses, then to the UC president and Board of Regents.

The Academic Council’s Coordinating Council on Graduate Affairs, one of four committees that will comment on the law school, has commented favorably, said David Brant, a UCI chemistry professor who heads the Academic Senate.

All four committees are expected to report to the Academic Council at the Feb. 14 meeting.

UC Riverside also is making a pitch for a law school.

A UCI law school would be part of the university’s ambitious plan to grow from 19,000 to 30,000 students in the decade ahead.

The university also has been studying the feasibility of building schools in pharmaceutical sciences, design and public health.

William Parker, vice chancellor for research, said the groups studying pharmaceutical sciences and public health probably will recommend that programs be started within existing schools, rather than launching new ones.

The committee looking at the potential for a design school is not as far along, and is continuing to develop its proposal, Parker said.