TCU shouldn't feel burned by law school deal

By Bud Kennedy

bud@star-telegram.com

TCU had its chance.

Ten years after trustees turned down Texas Wesleyan University's $60 million asking price for a turnkey law school, Wesleyan instead cut Texas A&M a discount for $25 million upfront and $2.5 million in annual rent.

If that sounds like a sweetheart deal for A&M, consider what Wesleyan kept: four blocks downtown near a commuter rail station, plus half the brand name of "Texas A&M School of Law at Texas Wesleyan University."

Is that worth knocking $35 million off the price?

Maybe so.

Should TCU have bought Wesleyan Law 10 years ago?

Maybe not.

I could argue that all three universities came out ahead on the inventive A&M-Wesleyan deal announced Tuesday: the partners for obvious reasons, and TCU for not buying a fledgling law school.

"For TCU, buying just to get the name 'law school' wasn't the answer," said Houston attorney Bob Craig, a former TCU alumni chairman and moderator of a social media page for "TCU Frogs@Law" grads who became lawyers.

For years, Craig lobbied trustees to start a law school. But this isn't the time, he said, and an unranked school like Wesleyan might not be the place.

"A law school isn't that much of an economic bonus right now," Craig said.

"I'd love to see TCU have a law school. But people are not beating doors down to hire lawyers."

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that barely half of law school graduates are getting jobs within a year.

According to statistics reported by the Journal and compiled by the American Bar Association, Wesleyan's employment rate is Texas' lowest: 49 percent.

In contrast, the Journal reported that more than three-fourths of graduates with Master of Business Administration degrees found work.

That makes Wesleyan's deal even better. The university will offer a joint A&M law-Wesleyan MBA, along with a three-year Wesleyan undergraduate plan to draw students to the law school.

So Wesleyan gets money and publicity for its Fort Worth and Burleson campuses.

A&M gets a big-city address and the law school it always wanted.

TCU gets to plan for another day.

Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 817-390-7538

Twitter: @budkennedy

Looking for comments?