New Law School at St John Fisher? Why?
What do you think about this? A $2 million dollars in State money help a Private institution found a new Law School at the private college St John Fisher.
Here are questions I have
Are the two 2 Law schools w/in a hour away from here filled to capacity? A Syracuse and University of Buffalo?
Is there an increasing demand for Lawyers?
What role will St John Fishers $37 million dollar endowment play in constructing law school?
Here is an interesting LTE in Saturday’s Democrat and Chronicle
A Fisher law school proposal is foolish
Oh, great! Just what we need; another law school and the expenditure of more than $2 million of taxpayer money to decide if one should be established at St. John Fisher College, a private institution. Thank you, Sen. Joe Robach. There are hundreds of law schools in America (and Canada) including ones in Syracuse, Buffalo and Ithaca (Cornell University has a nationally ranked one) as well as Albany, and numerous ones in the New York metropolitan area. It isn’t hard to guess where a law school at St. John Fisher will rank in the scheme of things. I am a retired lawyer and think this whole proposal is ridiculous.
So what would you spend $2 million dollars of state money on?
How about infrastructure, sustainable infrastructure, or don’t spend it at all - lower the State budget by $2 million. A But then again - how would be know it it an election year?
I have a feeling this $2 million dollars is simply a really expensive calendar so we know when it is election time.
Did I mention St John Fisher has a $37 million dollar endowment?
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I’ve heard friends complain that Rochester doesn’t have a law school. Personally, I would rather see one at RIT or U. of R. but 2 million isn’t that much and 37 million is an extremely small endowment.
I agree that 2 million in state money could be used better elsewhere. If the current SUNY schools were well funded I think it would be a great idea. St. John Fisher is on the move, with the new pharmacy school and it’s continual high pace growth over the last 10 years. It will have a great educational experience and produce some fantastic ETHICAL lawyers.
I would rather see that money come from private donors though, and agree the timing of the $ 2 million was not perfect. Perhaps it could be a tax/interest free loan due back withing 6 years (two full cycles of a 3 year program)
$37 million is an extremely small endowment. Sure compared to Harvard’s Billions. Sure.
But isn’t the point here timing? Plus our dysfunctional State government who just passed a rather large Budget. A budget that continues to grow.
What exactly are the arrangements and exactly what is SJF contributing? I understand about your friends.
Has there been a demand for this service in the past? Has it been talked about?
The issue isn’t a new law school, whether we need one or not, private v public, or anything like that. It’s about Joe Robach getting great media coverage and a great story in the middle of a campaign — another “cardboard check” story. Having worked in PR and media relations on a number of campaigns I can smell them a mile away, and this one stinks like a red herring. The only reason this story exists is because Robach is heading into a serious campaign.
I agree. The message here is “maybe it’s great to have a new law school here, but could this be any more of an obvious political give away to help Robach?”
The City graduates 39 per cent of its high school students, the zero tolerance policy needs money for police overtime, the City budget needs more than $15 million to be balanced and Mayor Duffy is considering cutbacks and layoffs, city residents may lose some services, the FAIR plan raids suburban school districts and Joe Robach’s response is to get more than $2 million to help a private suburban college train more lawyers? I do not understand his priorities but they are just plain wrong for this district. Did anyone ever say that this is what his Senate district needs? It is a sign that he and his GOP colleagues have no idea what this community needs from the state.
Yep - I thought I made it clear with this sentence.
how is this a bad idea? 2million out of a 124 billion dollar budget that will help rochester’s economy is not bad. throw it in with the upstate revitalization fund. we need a law school. the logic that there are some nearby is insanely stupid. by that logic we don’t jobs in rochester either as long as buffalo or syracuse has them. talk about brain drain. every lawyer in this town had to leave to get that. you send people away, you might not get them back.
Making an issue of spending public money on a private school is not insanely stupid. What’s insanely stupid is being against pork barrel spending, except when it’s my pork. I reiterate, with stlo7: Joe Robach’s priorities are singular: getting reelected.
I don’t know Dennis - how is this a bad idea. I mean sure education - higher education is usually a good idea. but
Really. Did this need just materialize this year? Have we always needed a lawschool? I’m just asking. I don’t recall hearing a chorus of cries that Rochester NY needs law school.
Yeah - I get it someday we will talk about real money. Duffy’s surge is how much? $9 million. Both the County and the City are in the hole financially. What is another couple of million going somewhere else.
My question was and remains is this the best use of $2 million dollars NOW. Is it responsible. That was my question. Oh - political pork? Yeah that too.
one more thing - every lawyer had to leave to get a law degree. Yep. and know what? they came back to practice law.
Am I against building a school? No. Actually I think it is a good idea. I want to know if it is really what Rochester needs right now and is it the best use of $2 million of State Money (and the rest that will likely be given as well).
political pork is not a bad thing. it is the only local control over spending. do you want the entire budget set by a group of folks that reside in just a handful of square miles? is it an election year thing? probably. does rochester need a law school? yes. could fisher come up with 2 mil so senator joe can cut someone else a giant check? probably. if joe uses member item money, it can’t be for operational funds, so it can’t go to a school that is facing a budget shortfall. if that school is building a stadium though, it can. joe can’t put that money into the general fund so he will use it all. and if he uses it to benefit the community, the community wins in the long run.
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