UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Fourteen students, staff, faculty and alumni from Penn State Dickinson Law and Penn State Law have been selected to serve on the panel charged by President Neeli Bendapudi with developing recommendations on how to reunite Penn State’s two, separately accredited law schools. The panel’s first meeting is scheduled for Jan. 25.
Having received more than 700 nominations for service on the panel, the final candidates were selected based on their expertise with law school operations, capacity to engage in the discussion of collective and shared interests, understanding of the unique strengths of each of the two law schools, and the ability and willingness to promote collaboration in furtherance of the panel’s charge.
The panel is being led by chair Danielle Conway, dean of Dickinson Law, and vice chair Victor Romero, interim dean of Penn State Law. The two collaborated to select the panel membership and ensure fair representation from both law schools.
From Penn State Dickinson Law, the panelists are:
- Ezza Ahmed, 3L student
- Hubert Gilroy, adjunct professor of law and shareholder, Martson Law Offices
- Dermot Groome, professor of law and Harvey A. Feldman Distinguished Faculty Scholar
- Medha Makhlouf, Elsie de R. and Samuel P. Orlando Distinguished Professor, associate professor of law and founding director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic
- Doris Orner, financial officer
- Samantha Prince, assistant professor of law and director of legal analysis and writing
- Bekah Saidman-Krauss, associate dean for admissions and financial aid
From Penn State Law, the panelists are:
- Nicole Chong, associate dean and professor of legal writing
- Amanda DiPolvere, associate dean for enrollment, career development, planning and transition
- Kit Kinports, professor of law and Polisher Family Distinguished Faculty Scholar
- Curtis Toll, managing shareholder of the Philadelphia office of Greenberg Traurig
- Michele Vollmer, associate dean for clinics and experiential learning, clinical professor of law and director of the Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic
- Taylor Washington, 3L student
- Kim Wyatt, director of finance and administration
“I want to thank everyone who submitted a nomination to serve on this panel. The volume of nominations is indicative of the importance of the work that this panel will undertake over the next five months,” said Conway. “We know that it is not going to be an easy task to bring these two tremendous law schools back together, but our work will build on the strengths of both Penn State Dickinson Law and Penn State Law to create a future for an even stronger, single law school that expands opportunities for law students, staff, faculty and alumni and better serves our communities across Pennsylvania.”
Conway and Romero have two overarching priorities for the panel as they explore various options for reuniting the two schools: to forge a path forward for a reunited law school that is in the best interest of the institution and to provide as much stability as possible for current students, staff and faculty at both law schools.
“As we look to the future as a single law school, we are equally focused on minimizing the impacts of the reunification process on our law school communities,” said Romero. “In particular, we will be maintaining the commitment Penn State has made to providing our current students — as well as those joining us in the fall — with the world-class legal education they were promised on the campus where they enrolled.”
The panel is expected to deliver its draft recommendations to Bendapudi by April 30, at which time she will consult with Penn State leadership and other experts for review and comment. She will share that input with the panel, seeking its final recommendations by May 31. After considering the panel’s recommendations, Bendapudi will select the structure of the reunited law school and present it to the Penn State Board of Trustees for approval.