Legal News

Ave Maria! Unable to Raise Cash, Law School Scraps New Building Plan

By Dan Slater

The problems of Ave Maria School of Law just won’t go away. The school — which has been sued by some of its professors, undergone student defections, and was compelled to change deans this month after U.S. News ranked it in the lowest tier — has now found itself unable to sell the naming rights to its planned new building in Ave Maria, Florida. Instead, Ave Maria law school will move to an older building in nearby Naples — the former Ave Maria University temporary campus. Here’s the report from the NLJ.

Back in December, the Law Blog noted that the dean was looking to sell the naming rights to its planned new building for $20 million. But, according to the report, in a press release the school, founded by Domino’s pizza founder Thomas Monaghan, cited “declining national economy and ongoing high construction costs due to the rising prices of raw materials” as reasons for the change in location.

LB’ers: We’re hoping there are some Ave Maria faithful among you — either students, professors or parents familiar with the school. Could the school’s inability to raise money for a new building portend more problems? Let us know what you think.

Photo: Ave Maria Web Site

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on April 28, 2008 (boomark / email).