UNT Interested in Buying Texas Wesleyan Law School

Harry · November 7, 2002

Pamela Manson

Texas Lawyer

10-30-2002

Another suitor is showing interest in Texas Wesleyan University School of Law.

The chancellor of the University of North Texas in Denton says UNT officials are discussing buying the Fort Worth law school and have begun appraising its physical assets, including the building, land, computers and library materials. Although discussions about the purchase began recently, UNT's desire to develop a public law school goes back more than 20 years, Chancellor Lee Jackson says.

"The opportunity to acquire an existing accredited law school in an area without a public law school offers some advantages to the region and to UNT," Jackson says.

UNT is the second university this year to consider buying Texas Wesleyan's law school. Wesleyan administrators have discussed selling the school for almost two years, but the board of trustees turned down an offer this year from Texas Christian University as too low. Wesleyan and TCU administrators decline to reveal the amount of the offer, but two sources who request anonymity peg the amount at about $30 million.

Lisa Fellers, Wesleyan's director of communications, says that discussions with UNT are in the early stage.

"When you have a great thing, people are always interested," she says. "It's a prestigious school."

Jackson says it's too soon to put a price tag on the deal, but UNT plans to raise private money if it does buy the law school. In addition, the university would not ask the Legislature for operating expenses, he says.

"This is not the environment to be asking the state of Texas for additional dollars," the chancellor says. "It [the law school] would need to continue to be self-supporting."

The school would remain in Fort Worth if it becomes part of UNT, he adds. The state, including the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, would have to approve the deal.

The law school was established in 1989 as DFW Law School and became part of Texas Wesleyan in 1992. The American Bar Association granted it full approval in 1999. Approximately 600 students, some of them part time, attend the school.

The law school's relationship with Wesleyan, which has been grappling with budget woes recently, has been rocky at times. The university's use last year of almost $1 million of profits generated by the law school for other Wesleyan programs irked law Dean Richard Gershon, who on Aug. 16 announced that he would step down as dean in May 2003 and return to full-time teaching. Gershon said any surplus should help the law students who generated it and his decision to resign as dean was based on funding disagreements with university officials.

This academic year, Wesleyan officials will refrain from dipping too deeply into its law school's coffers. Under an agreement approved Oct. 8 by Texas Wesleyan's board of trustees, the university will take only 20 percent of what the law school generates above its $10.9 million budget. That works out to about $150,000 on an estimated profit of approximately $750,000. The rest would be used for the law school.

Gershon credits students, faculty, staff and alumni for helping bring about the agreement. They voiced their concern over money being diverted from the law school and university officials responded positively, he says. He adds that the board has set up a liaison committee to work with law school representatives.

"It's a very positive step," Gershon says. "It allows the law school to keep all of its budget. We couldn't have asked for anything more."