Gazette.net Aug. 26, 2010 Delegate plans to continue push for Prince George's law school by Virginia Terhune Bowie State among those under consideration This story was corrected on Aug. 26, 2010. An explanation follows the story. Del. Justin Ross (D-Dist. 22) of Hyattsville plans to ask the state for $150,000 during the next session of the General Assembly in 2011 to continue researching opening a satellite campus for the University of Baltimore law school in Prince George's County. The money would be used to hire a consultant to gauge the demand for evening classes among aspiring lawyers in Washington, D.C.'s suburbs. There are two law schools in Baltimore — the University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland campus in Baltimore — that cost less to attend than most of the six law schools in the District, but it takes longer to commute there for residents of Prince George's County and other D.C. suburbs, according to a preliminary report given to the General Assembly last fall. Only 17 of the 342 students, or 5 percent, who took evening law classes at the University of Baltimore from 2006 to 2009 were from Prince George's County, a statistic from the report that Ross believes is due to time on the road. He attended law classes there for two semesters in 2005, driving from Greenbelt. "The commute was a killer," said Ross, who said he dropped out after a year because of his growing family. Bowie, Largo, Laurel and College Park are among the areas in Prince George's County where the University of Baltimore could open a satellite law school, according to the preliminary report. "It's a home run, it's a win-win," said Ross, who initiated the report done by the University System of Maryland and the University of Baltimore last fall. "The University of Maryland System believed it made a lot of sense," Ross said about the report. "We're not tilting at windmills." Running unopposed this year for a third term, Ross said he's trying to build support and lay the groundwork now so that when the economy improves, the state can afford to pay the estimated $1.4 million in startup costs and two years of losses before the satellite school would begin to break even. The school could eventually serve up to 200 evening students. The preliminary report emphasizes the wisdom of locating a satellite school near Metro, MARC or other major transit centers, making it easier and faster for people who work during the day, many in the District, to make it to class and then home at night. One possible site is Bowie State University, which is not close to Metro stations but located close to a MARC rail station. "We are pleased to be one of the sites under consideration for a potential new public law school in Maryland," wrote BSU President Mickey L. Burnim in an e-mail. "This would be a good fit for Bowie State University given that we are a comprehensive university offering a broad range of graduate and professional programs," he wrote. "Additionally, the university currently has thriving programs in criminal justice, business, public administration, and social work which would be nicely complemented by a law school. Bowie State University already has extensive degree program offerings in the evenings and on weekends so a law program offered within the same timeframe would be a tremendous additional option for Marylanders and others throughout the region." Other possible sites include, but are not limited to, Prince George's Community College in Largo, the Laurel College Center, which is off Route 1 at Route 198 and run jointly by the Prince George's Community College and Howard University; and the University of Maryland, College Park. Representatives of the University of Baltimore, Prince George's Community College and the University of Maryland, College Park, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The report also mentions possibly leasing commercial space inside the Beltway or near major transit centers in New Carrollton and Landover. A life-long resident of Prince George's County, Ross said he's weary of the county having to make a case for why it deserves resources like a satellite law school campus, particularly when it is the second largest county in Maryland and growing. "The road to the governor's mansion runs through Prince George's County," Ross said, also noting the county's large block of voters. "If [the county] is good enough before the election, then it's good enough after the election," he said. vterhune@gazette.net Correction: This story was changed to correct the name of the University of Maryland campus in Baltimore. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/meeting-form.html for the October 24-26, 2010 HBCU Library Alliance 4th Membership Meeting and the "Conference on Advocacy" pre-conference in Montgomery, AL. The Pre-Conference and Membership meeting are open to directors and other librarians.