Controversy at Ave Maria School of Law

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A proposal and decision to move the Ave Maria School of Law from its current location in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Collier County, Florida as part of the Ave Maria community, has generated controversy among students and alumni of the college.

The Ave Maria School of Law was founded by Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan in 1999 with the intention of being a world-class law school basing teachings in the Catholic faith. Bernard Dobranski was named the first Dean of the school. (Ave Maria School of Law media release, 1999) The school opened in 2000.

In 2002, Monaghan declared plans to create Ave Maria University, within the Domino's Farms office park in Ann Arbor, centered around a planned 25-story crucifix that generated debate in the area. (Detroit News, 2002) The proposal was rejected by Ann Arbor Township, citing complaints about drainage and environmental impact on the area as reasoning for the denial. Other residents questioned those reasons. (Naples Daily News, 2003) Later that year, Monaghan stated a plan to instead establish Ave Maria University and a surrounding community in Collier County, Florida. He stated that Ave Maria College would eventually close and students would be invited to transfer to the new school. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2002) A feasibility study was conducted by J.M. Lord & Associates to determine the effects of relocating the Ave Maria School of Law to Florida, and suggests that the move would be detrimental to the school.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the Board of Governors of Ave Maria School of Law voted to implement term limits on Board members (which have subsequently been suspended, citing the need for Board members familiar with the move), resulting in the removal of four members of the board including Dr. Charles E. Rice, who had voiced opposition to the relocation of the school into the Florida location. Rice had written a letter to the Naples Daily News earlier in the year stating that the Board had, in September of 2003, decided against the move. (The Wanderer Newspaper, 2005)

The Board, with four new members appointed on December 5, 2005, decided at a meeting on March 8, 2006 to reconsider the move to Florida, with Dobranski stating in a decision on the school Web site [1] the decision would involve all stakeholders, including faculty, students and the Board, in the process. Following that decision, a faculty group and alumni passed resolutions calling for Dobranski to step down from his position. A total of 150 students, of a body of approximately 360, signed a petition asking the Board to refrain from pursuing the Florida move further. Professor Stephen Safranek stated the move could jeopardize the ABA accreditation, and critics suggested the move was too soon for a school started just a few years earlier. Board member Bowie Kuhn said the criticism was unfair and concern was premature, as the feasibility study was not expected to be completed prior to late 2006. He also noted that if the move was approved, it would not take place until likely 2009. (American Lawyer, 2006)

In the most widely anticipated alumni board elections to date, held in November 2006, the alumni at large elected a known critic of the alumni board's no-confidence vote as the alumni board president.

The Board of Trustees voted on February 17, 2007, to move the school to Collier County, Florida. On February 20, 2007, Dean Dobranski made the announcement to the law school community that Ave Maria School of Law will me moving to Ave Maria, Florida. However, the move will happen in the Fall of 2009.

Recently, the school has announced that due to the "nationwide economic downturn" the school will not be moving to Ave Maria, Florida, but to a remodeled retirement community in Naples called "The Vineyards."

[edit] References

"Premier National Catholic Law School to be Established in the Ann Arbor Area," Ave Maria School of Law media release, April 7, 1999

"Pizza King Proposes World's Largest Crucifix," Michael H. Hodges, The Detroit News, January 30, 2002. available as archive; copy available as a forum post here

"Ave Maria founder Tom Monaghan is a man of faith, plans and action," Marci Elliott, Naples Daily News, April 13, 2003. Archived at Catholic Education Resource Center, accessed October 9, 2006

"$220-Million to Build College Pledged by Pizza Entrepreneur," Meg Sommerfeld, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, November 20, 2002. Accessed October 9, 2006

"Change In Bylaws... Ave Maria Law School Alums Upset By Rice Removal," Paul Likoudis, The Wanderer Newspaper, October 13, 2005, accessed October 9, 2006