The gift of opportunity
Robert V. Ward Jr. has a unique perspective on the war between Southern New England School of Law, which seeks to become part of the state university system, and its competitors in Boston, who oppose the idea.
“It’s too bad they’ve forgotten about their history and their mission,’’ he said yesterday of one of the competitors, Suffolk University Law School. “Suffolk and New England were founded a year apart so poor and middle-class students can get a legal education. It was a good idea in 1909, and it’s a good idea now.’’
Ward is the dean of the Southern New England School of Law, or SNESL, a relatively small law school in South Dartmouth not generally thought of as a hotbed of academia. It boasts a price tag of about $15,000 a year, a diverse student body, and a lovely campus.
While the college breaks even, the problem with the place is that it is too small to grow. It lacks accreditation by the American Bar Association and does not have the resources to meet its standards. (This may be as good a place as any to disclose that SNESL, inexplicably, awarded me an honorary degree in 2003.)
Several years ago the college attempted to merge with the nearby University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, only to be rebuffed by the Board of Higher Education. This time the school is offering to simply turn itself - and its $22.5 million in assets - over to the state as a gift.
Four years ago, the idea of merging SNESL into the UMass system was undercut by ferocious political infighting, much of it driven by the opposition of private law schools such as Suffolk and the New England School of Law in Boston. They don’t care for the idea of a state-funded law school that would compete with them for students. Ultimately, Stephen Tocco, chairman of the Board of Higher Education, shot down the merger idea, largely because of the opposition of the other law schools.
The prospects this time are both better and worse. Thanks to changes in the governor’s office and the board of higher ed, the kind of campaign that doomed it last time is less likely to be effective.
On the other hand, the state is far from flush with cash right now.
SNESL officials insist that the tuition the school receives is enough to support it, and that it will not be a drag on the state’s coffers.
Governor Deval Patrick is officially taking a noncommittal stance while the board does the work of determining whether the deal makes financial sense. Privately, administration officials say the governor is probably inclined to support it. They also say he doesn’t care what the other law schools think of the idea.
“It’s a gift,’’ one official said yesterday. “We have to do due diligence, but unless there’s a financial reason to reject it, he thinks it makes sense.’’
For Ward, this has become a defining cause. He was hired to run the school 11 years ago after 17 years at NESL, and he sees it as a matter of expanding access to people who have struggled to enter the legal profession. “We really do believe that middle-class people have a right to a quality education,’’ Ward said.
On paper, the partnership makes sense. UMass-Dartmouth has a track record of effectively managing graduate programs. The arguments of the other law schools that Massachusetts has too many lawyers is too hypocritical - coming from a bunch of lawyers - to be much more than a joke.
On the other hand, at a time when the state is slashing jobs at an alarming rate, the burden is on proponents to prove that this “gift’’ won’t be a fiscal millstone.
This is about more than dollars and cents, though. The argument that Massachusetts doesn’t need a public law school is rooted in class. SNESL serves a substantially different population than private law schools. Only six states lack a public law school, and Massachusetts should be embarrassed.
The board is likely to render its decision in December. “All I want is a fair hearing,’’ Ward said yesterday. “I’m confident if it is reviewed objectively, we win.’’
Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com. 
