Law School Offers Buyouts To Tenured Faculty Thanks To Sharp Decline In Enrollment

It looks like yet another law school has decided to cast out its largest cost centers: tenured faculty members.

By Staci Zaretsky on February 29, 2016 1:01 pm

VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL — EMAIL FROM DEAN ANDREA LYON — FACULTY BUYOUTS

Dear Law School Alumni,

Thank you for your continued support of Valparaiso University. I wanted to reach out to you personally to provide some information about an announcement we made this morning about the future of the Valparaiso University Law School.

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Law schools in today’s post-recession era are facing a sharp decline in student applications and enrollment and are confronted with a diverse mix of financial challenges due to these issues. Valparaiso University’s Law School is no exception.

To put the Law School and our students in the best position to succeed, we are taking steps to meet the challenges facing legal education. Based on thorough due diligence, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to allow tenured faculty members and faculty members with multi-year contracts to request a buyout of their contracts based on certain terms and conditions.

The purpose is to align the size of the faculty with the expected future law school enrollment. Valparaiso University and its board are fully committed to the future of the Law School and are taking this step to ensure its future success.

It is anticipated that local, legal and higher education media may cover this story, and I wanted you to hear the news directly from me.