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Law school would increase prestige

TCU seems to think it is a great university.

It offers students a wide range of academic choices. It has some of the top faculty in the nation. Campus improvements continue to make life here more enjoyable. Students have won many awards. And graduates have gone on to succeed in their fields.

But we’re not perfect, not yet.

Recently, it was reported that the University of North Texas was interested in buying Texas Wesleyan University’s law school in downtown Fort Worth, something TCU has talked about and even made an offer on, but has since withdrawn.

In his Fall 2001 Convocation address, Chancellor Michael Ferrari made increasing the prestige of the graduate programs at TCU one of the university’s priorities. A little more than a year later, and a chance to grab an already established law school squandered, the university is still in the same position.

Ferrari said that should UNT actually obtain the law school, the matter won’t have an affect on students coming to TCU. And while that may be true for some, other students may chose to attend a good university, with an already established law school, and pay a lot less than they would to attend TCU.

TCU cannot afford to remain an undergraduate campus. If it wants to move up in prestige and attract the higher quality students it seeks, the university needs to work on the number and quality of graduate programs here. TCU, honestly, can’t afford to have passed up the chance to buy the law school.

For what TCU can offer, it is a good school.

But it can be better.