Kudos to the board of trustees of Whittier College, not for their decision to shut down the Law School, but for stepping-up and taking the responsibility for both a) making a decision and b) publicly presenting the decision to their faculty, students and staff.

 

But trustees voted by phone last week to shut down the law school, Escobedo and others said. On Wednesday, Whittier College President Sharon Herzberger and Jim Brown of the board of trustees delivered a prepared statement about the decision to faculty, students and staff and declined to elaborate.

“We believe we have looked at every realistic option to continue a successful law program,” board chairman Alan Lund said in a letter to the law school community. “Unfortunately, these efforts did not lead to a desired outcome.”

Ana Lilia Barraza, a college spokeswoman, said administrators will develop a plan over the next two months to make sure students finish their degrees “in a timely manner.” She said the school had been considering a merger with another institution, but negotiations recently fell through.

The trustees' decision, according to the LA Times, is not one being popularly viewed by the faculty, staff and students citing previous understanding that steps could have prevented this action.  But as we all know, times are difficult and it should surprise few that decisions like this are inevitable for some nonprofits.  Now of course, the trustees must see to the dissolution.  This task is not much more simple than the commitment itself but one which the trustees have made a commitment.