Law School Struggles to Stay Open As Profs Work Without Pay
The New College of California School of Law plans to stay open through May, even though faculty and staff haven’t been paid since November.
Some fear the San Francisco law school is in danger of closing after the U.S. Department of Education froze $2 million in funding while it audits the wider New College campus, according to an alumni letter obtained by the Recorder (sub. req.). The letter seeks contributions for the school’s operating expenses.
The law school describes its mission as educating socially responsible lawyers and bills itself as the oldest public interest law school in the country. It shares a building with Bay Area Legal Aid.
Law professor Ora Prochovnick told the Recorder the situation is critical. “We don’t have the cash flow to function and survive as a functional institution at this point,” Prochovnick said. “The effect is causing us to get deeper and deeper into a hole that I don’t think we can dig out of.”
Edward Roybal, the law school’s acting faculty chair, said that if the main campus shuts down, the law school will explore options such as transferring its program to another Bay Area law school.
