The University of New Haven (UNH) will embark on a feasibility study to create a law school. UNH President Steven H. Kaplan notes the decision comes after a year of investigation, in which the University met with and studied several law schools, including two that are in their infancy. UNH compiled its vision for a law school, which was reviewed by and received high marks from deans of law schools across the country, including Drexel University in Pennsylvania and Elon University in North Carolina.
The University received unanimous permission from its Executive Committee of the Board of Governors to pursue the study. Kaplan expects to receive final approval for the initiative at the Board of Governors' meeting on September 27.
"The University of New Haven has good reason to pursue the creation of a law school," Kaplan said. "The experts with whom we shared our vision agreed that it was certainly appropriate for a university with such strong criminal justice and forensic science programs to consider this. Also, one of the University's four strategic directions calls for UNH to strengthen its arts and sciences programs. Creating a law school would certainly fit that goal."
Each year, approximately 40 UNH students go on to law school following graduation. "We want to offer those students a superb option by considering the creation of a University of New Haven law school," Kaplan said. "This effort would join with a number of other initiatives that we are aggressively pursuing in our effort to become one of the strongest comprehensive universities in the Northeast."
A leader in experiential learning, the University of New Haven provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. A private University founded in 1920, UNH has a full-time undergraduate enrollment of more than 2,400 students-with 70 percent residing on its 80-acre main campus-and a graduate school enrollment that exceeds 1,700. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through its four colleges, in fields such as sports management, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science, fire science and criminal justice. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.
