The Future Is So 'Bright' At This Law School That It Has To Offer Faculty Buyouts

Which law school is politely pushing its older faculty members out the door this time?

Another day, another law school administrator talking out of both sides of his mouth. Sure, his law school is reducing its faculty numbers because there isn’t enough tuition money to pay their salaries, but everything is going to be fine. According to this dean, “I think the market is coming back and we are stabilizing. I think the future looks bright for us.”

Which law school is politely pushing its older faculty members out the door this time?

It’s none other than the hundredth-best law school in the country (in a four-way tie), SUNY Buffalo Law. In a three-year period, applicants to Buffalo have dropped from 1,894 to 1,146. Ouch, that’s got to sting a little.

The school has plans to downsize in more ways than one. According to Dean Makau Mutua, Buffalo will decrease its entering first-year class from 200-225 to 185-200, to “maintain the quality of its students.”

Here’s the scoop from Business First as to Buffalo’s plans to rid its hallways of old law professors:

UB has offered retirement incentives to faculty over the age of 55. Mutua said eight people will accept, reducing the faculty from about 48 to about 40.

Mutua said the retirement incentives will allow the law school to avoid layoffs.

“These are valued colleagues who have been with us a long time and made many wonderful contributions,” he said. “So we wanted to do it in a way that was mutually benefifical [sic].”

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This reminded us of the faculty buyouts at Albany Law, but we don’t think those bribes were being handed out on the basis of age. How does it feel to be deferentially discriminated against, law professors?

We sincerely hope the faculty involved will find the process of being removed due to their old age as “benefifical” as Dean Mutua promises. Remember, Buffalo Law’s future is brighter without you.

Downsizing planned for UB Law School [Business First]

Earlier: Tenured Faculty Cuts Are Coming To A New York Law School — But Which One? And When?

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