The article that started it all?

Naples News ran a story last year that suggested that AMSOL was seriously considering a move to Florida to join Ave Maria University. It was this story that Professor Rice responded to in his letter to the editor, in which he clarified several inaccuracies in the article (the full text of his letter can be found in this Wanderer story. Aside from questions of who pushed this story on Naples News, there are three parts of the story that should be examined more closely.

1.The Ave Maria move to Florida prompted officials at the Ann Arbor law school to discuss following suit. Some law school faculty members already have visited Collier County for a tour of the area, said Bernard Dobranski, president and dean of Ave Maria College.

2. Moving is a consideration, but a decision has not been made, he stressed, and one likely will not be made until the school receives full accreditation from the American Bar Association.

3. "The issue of moving a law school from one location to another is considered a major change, which requires their approval," he said.

Commentary
1. As Professor Rice noted in his letter, he had talked to most of the faculty who visited the Florida site, and their "their reaction was overwhelmingly negative with respect to any move of AMSL to Collier County".

2. Dean Dobranski appears to give the impression that a decision on a move could be made as soon as the school received full accreditation, which means the announcement of such a board decision could be very soon in coming.

3. Dean Dobranski uses the technical term of a "major change" in relation to how the ABA would view such a move. Please refer to post and corresponding comments on the ABA standards. The more proper understanding of such a move to Florida would fall under Interpretation 101-2, which deals with the transfer of all, or substantially all of the academic assets of a law school. If AMSOL were to move from Michigan and set up in another state, it would have to dissolve its MI corporation and incorporate in a different state, or transfer its assets to another institution. Either way, this would fall under 101-2, and not be considered a "major change" (which is Standard 105).