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V O L . X X I I N O. X X V I N OV E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 6 22 L AW F O C U S Maine Law: Already breaking down silos e business plan calls for a multi-pronged strat- egy to increase graduate program enrollments and foster more collaboration between Maine Law, the Muskie School and the newly unifi ed MBA pro- gram. It seeks to achieve a more than 35% increase in graduate school enrollments by 2024. Both goals are driven by the belief that putting those programs under one roof as a true consortium "will break down the walls and silos in graduate programs that already are vanishing from the real world of work; will breed the collaboration and relationship-building that is increasingly valued in the economy; and will better capitalize on Maine's competitive advantages, better create economic opportunities and better meet employers' needs." Danielle Conway, who became dean of University of Maine School of Law in July 2015, embraces that emphasis, pointing out that it will strengthen and enhance Maine Law initiatives such as the PLUS Program, a new summer immersion program for col- lege undergraduates that aims to bring diversity to the legal profession. Maine Law received a $300,000 grant from the Law School Admission Council to fund the program for three summers and is one of only 16 law schools nationwide selected for funding. e program is designed primarily for college students of color, immigrants, low-income stu- dents and students from rural areas. Along with the interdisciplinary focus of the Maine Center consortium, Conway says the PLUS Program and another initiative, the newly created Refugee and Human Rights Clinic the law school is hosting in partnership with the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, are among the ways Maine Law will "diff erentiate" itself from other law schools across the nation. In simple terms, it makes Maine Law more refl ective of the diversity that exists in both the United States and the world. Another initiative that will be enhanced by the Maine Center's "one roof, three programs" emphasis, she says, is the law school's Rural Law Pilot Project, which starts next year and will link two students a year to Maine rural lawyer mentors. "It will provide work opportunities so that students learn about how a rural law practice benefi ts a community," Conway says. "What we're investing in is 'quality' and it's quality of the kind that fi ts our country's needs," Conway says. "I like to think of the Maine Center as a convenor, a place where we can share opportunities and experi- ences and expand their reach beyond what we could do in one school or one department." The USM perspective: Opportunity, but also concerns USM President Glenn Cummings, who also started in July 2015, says he supports the underlying goals of the Maine Center initiative, recalling a conver- sation in which a friend told him Maine workers had a strong work ethic, showed up on time and cared about the quality of their work. But what was missing, the friend continued, was "that next level of people" who can see patterns and trends, identify markets with strong potential for growth and eff ec- tively communicate how to get there. " e business plan is the starting point of discus- sion," Cummings says. "I very much support it being aspirational, but as a good New Englander, I want to see how we're going to make it work. … e politics of merging the MBA programs are very complicated. Our faculty is particularly concerned about equity in the new governance structure. So it's my job to make sure those concerns are fairly addressed." Cummings also qualifi es his support for the "one roof, three programs" concept with a strong asser- tion that if a new building is to be built, it needs to be located on the USM campus rather than off -campus somewhere else in Portland. "It would be very devastating to us if, in a single swipe, you were to relocate Maine Law and the Muskie School outside of this campus," Cummings says. "It would leave this Portland campus desolate. We can't aff ord to be neutral on that question." Cummings points out, for example, that USM's "4+1" accelerated degree programs allow qualifying stu- dents to focus on their bachelor's degree requirements during their fi rst three years, take a mix of bachelor's and master's requirements in the fourth year and then complete their master's requirements in the fi fth year. If the graduate programs are moved off -campus, he says, it will complicate the logistics for those fourth- year students and potentially break the pathway toward continuing their graduate studies at USM. e business plan is explicitly silent on the issue, although Cutler agrees there are merits to placing the proposed Maine Center building on the USM campus. " ere are arguments that could be made for put- ting it on the peninsula, and there are arguments for putting it on the Portland campus," Cutler says. "If it were left up to me, I can make a stronger argument for keeping it on the campus. But it's not my decision to make, or Glenn's. We're asking investors to put a lot of money into this [proposed building]. ey deserve an opportunity to have a say in where it might be located." Firooza Pavri, director of the Muskie School, shares Conway's enthusiasm for the Maine Center business plan, noting that her program, like Maine Law, already embraces a strong interdisciplinary, problem-focused approach in its degree programs. But she sees even greater opportunities to do so under the Maine Center model of putting the Muskie School, the Cutler Institute, Maine Law and the newly merged USM and UMaine MBA programs eventually under one roof. "It's a really exciting proposal," she says. "I think there is a great deal of potential. It's good for our stu- dents if we're able to provide more opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. It gives them a mix of skills so that when they leave our program they will be well-versed in all of these areas. at's a huge plus." JameS MCCarTHY, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at JmCCarTHY @ mainebiz.biz and @ JameSMainebiz » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E -8K -6K -4K -2K 0 2K 4K 6K 8K 10K 12K 14K 16K Manufacturing Goods-producing industries Government Information Self-employed Wholesale trade Natural resources, mining Utilities Financial activities Transportation and warehousing Construction Retail trade Other services Educational services Leisure and hospitality Professional and business services Wage and salary jobs Health care and social assistance Total private jobs Service-providing industries −23 −151 −208 −576 −600 −688 −3,580 −6,468 −6,485 15,967 9,499 8,853 5,919 4,846 2,450 530 370 317 225 38 Maine jobs forecast, net employment change by 2024 S O U R C E : Maine Department of Labor The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face The biggest challenge we face in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not in this state is not taxes, it's not energy costs, it's that we don't have the workforce we need to be competitive in the 21st Century. — Eliot Cutler, CEO of Maine Center for Professional Graduate Studies

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