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Wilkes Considers Establishing Law School: The University Also Looks at a Doctor of Education Program and Campus Restructuring.

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Kris Wernowsky, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

Jun. 28--WILKES-BARRE -- Wilkes University officials are exploring whether the area can sustain a law school.

The news came Tuesday as Wilkes University President Tim Gilmour, finance director Scott Byers and marketing director Jack Chielli met with the Times Leader editorial board to outline many of the university's long-term goals.

Other plans include establishing a doctorate in education program, a massive restructuring of facilities and residence halls and repositioning the school's footprint to take part of the campus out of the city's neighborhoods and move it downtown.

Over the next 20 years, Byers said, the university is expected to pump more than $140 million into various projects. The money will come from its own institutional budget, fund-raising sources and expected grants.

Gilmour stressed heavily that the university has a long way to go before a law school becomes a reality, but he said the Wilkes Board of Trustees has had some initial discussions.

"Our faculty hasn't even reviewed it yet," Gilmour said. "We're working on some stuff and seeing if we have the market. It does appear there is a need for a law school in the area."

The doctorate degree in teacher education is closer to becoming a reality than plans to graduate the school's first attorneys, according Chielli. Wilkes is late in the approval process for the doctorate program and is close to receiving approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

"Given our position in education, and training educators, it's a perfect fit for Wilkes," Chielli said.

Byers said the university's initial master plan has many facets that could change as time passes.

University officials plan to appeal to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to widen and turn the portion of South River Street that runs through the campus into a boulevard separated by a tree lawn in an attempt to quiet traffic in the area.

It's expected the number of campus buildings will reduce from 53 to 36 by the end of the 20-year plan.

A significant part of the university's strategy involves returning several administrative and residential buildings located in the 300 block of South River Street to the city's tax rolls by selling the buildings. Many of the administrative offices are being relocated to the University Center on Main building, purchased from the city last year.

The science department will be relocated from the Stark Learning Center to a proposed science building expected to be built in a vacant lot behind the Henry Student Center. The student center parking lot will eventually be converted into green space.

A portion of the Stark Learning Center will be demolished and a significant section of the building will be converted into a residence hall. The university plans to increase its on-campus housing capabilities from 854 beds to 1,283 beds through renovating on-campus residence halls and leasing an additional 400 beds in the 10 East South apartment high-rise.

Gilmour also wants to market the school beyond the borders of Luzerne County and try to make it more well-known throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The school is close to reaching its goal for expected enrollment, but the plan calls for increasing the number of students at Wilkes from 2,250 to 3,000 over the next 10 years.

"We want to be a school where a student can establish the kind of intimate relationship with other students, faculty and alumni to get the type of mentoring to get the contact and get engaged in their learning," Gilmour said. "We think these kinds of close relationships are the best way to get to the students."

Kris Wernowsky, a Times Leader staff writer may be reached at 831-7329.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

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