WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (May 7, 2008) – Wilkes University announces that Loren D. Prescott Jr. has been appointed dean for the Wilkes University Law School Planning Initiative.  

 

Prescott, who has served as vice dean and professor at Widener University School of Law, Harrisburg, Pa., will lead efforts to develop plans for northeastern Pennsylvania’s first law school. Preliminary plans call for enrolling between 80 and 100 first-year students in fall 2010.

 

As dean, Prescott will also complete an in-depth market analysis of enrollment trends, of the parameters for the law school library, and develop a trailblazing curriculum that answers many of the critiques of legal education today.  He is scheduled to submit the final plans for the law school for consideration by the Wilkes Board of Trustees at its April 2009 meeting.

 

“If feasible, the addition of a law school represents a great opportunity for the revitalization of Wilkes-Barre and the region. Wilkes’ mentoring culture is uniquely suited to training a new generation of attorneys skilled in the practice, not just the theory, of law,” said Tim Gilmour, president of Wilkes University. “Chip Prescott brings both experience and vision to this initiative. We’re honored to have a leader of his caliber to lead the effort.” 

 

“It will be a great privilege to serve as dean of the Wilkes Law School Planning Initiative. I look forward to working with the faculty, administrators, staff and students, and with members of the bench and bar in northeast Pennsylvania, during the coming months as work proceeds on this initiative,” Prescott said. “This initiative could provide Wilkes University with a unique opportunity to participate in the development of a 21^st century model of legal education and, in the process, to take advantage of its experience and success with mentoring in higher education.”

 

“The establishment of a law school would be another element in Wilkes’ strategy to provide graduate and professional education programs that are important to the future growth and development of northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Reynold Verret, Wilkes provost.  

 

The law school would be another contribution to local and regional economic development and would enhance the region’s reputation.

 

Job demand for lawyers remains strong, with starting salaries dependent on where and in what fields one practices, according to the Association of Legal Career Professionals. In addition, 90.7 percent of 2006 law school graduates for whom employment status was known were employed as of Feb. 15, 2007. The overall median starting salary reached $62,000, while the median compensation for private practice was $95,000.

 

Prescott began his career as a certified public accountant, having received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Washington. He earned his juris doctor degree from Willamette University College of Law and a master of laws degree in taxation from University of Florida College of Law. He is currently a doctoral candidate in public administration at Penn State University.

 

At Widener, which has about 500 full- and part-time law students, his responsibilities included coordinating academics, hiring faculty, scheduling classes and budgeting, plus fundraising and serving as primary spokesperson for Widener’s Harrisburg law campus.

 

Wilkes trustees began discussing a law school in 2004. Its curriculum would emphasize legal practice and incorporate Wilkes’ core value of mentoring. The school would integrate the skills needed to practice law with professionalism and ethics. The law school could complement and strengthen the university’s existing mix of academic programs, most notably in the liberal arts and sciences and also in business and health professions. 

 

For more information on the law school initiative, e-mail law@wilkes.edu or phone (800) WILKES-U Ext. 3220. Updates on progress will be posted at www.law.wilkes.edu.

 

Wilkes University is an independent institution of higher education dedicated to academic and intellectual excellence through mentoring in the liberal arts, sciences and professional programs. Founded in 1933, the university provides its students with the experience, mentoring and education necessary for career and intellectual development as well as personal growth. Providing a sense of values and civic responsibility, Wilkes encourages its students to welcome the opportunities and challenges of a diverse and continuously changing world.

 

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Contact: Jack Chielli, executive director of marketing communications, (570) 408-4774.