Summary: The University at Albany and Albany Law School are working on a partnership that could begin as early as 2015-2016.
The president of the University at Albany, Robert Jones, and the dean of Albany Law School, Penelope Andrews, will release an affiliation agreement between the schools before the end of the year, according to The Albany Business Review.
“It’s not a done deal,” Jones said at a meeting of the University Senate on Monday. “There are more compelling reasons, from my perspective, to do this than not.”
The governing boards of both schools approved the idea of moving forward with the affiliation agreement on Friday of last week. An agreement could take effect by the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.
Jones noted that it has yet to be decided if Albany Law will become the law school for the University at Albany or if it will remain an independent school.
The law school has five partnerships in the region, offering 10 joint juris doctor/master’s degree programs, including one with the University at Albany.
Albany Law School is the country’s oldest independent law school. The enrollment at the school has dropped to 617 students last fall from 821 just 10 years ago. Long-term faculty members were offered buyouts this year in an effort to reduce costs for the school.
A joint letter was sent to the faculty and staff at both schools by Andrews and Jones to inform them of affiliation talks.
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