The groundbreaking of the multimillion-dollar renovations to Trickett Hall at the Dickinson School of Law's Carlisle campus, which Penn State President Graham Spanier lauded as the "leading edge of the future direction of law schools," is scheduled to take place this morning.
Spanier and Gov. Ed Rendell are expected to oversee the groundbreaking at 10:30 a.m. today, which is the symbolic beginning to renovations that plan to turn Trickett Hall into what Spanier called an expandable "state-of-the-art" facility.
The renovations to Trickett Hall include high-tech courtrooms, hearing rooms and classrooms with real-time communication links between the Carlisle and University Park campuses, according to the Dickinson School of Law Web site, www.dsl.psu.edu.
"We'll be the only law school in the country that is fully integrated with two campuses with full telecommunication links between the two," Spanier said in an interview Friday. "Some faculty [will] have the option to move between the two."
The budget for multiple building projects at the Dickinson School of Law's Carlisle campus is $50 million, said Pam Knowlton, spokeswoman for Dickinson School of Law. The cost of the whole project between Carlisle and University Park is $110 million.
In his address to the Penn State Board of Trustees on Friday, Spanier called the renovation "one of the most significant innovations in American legal education."
Spanier said he is excited about the state's support and plans to thank Gov. Rendell today at the groundbreaking.
"I will express our appreciation for the role the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania played in allocating funding for the project," Spanier said in his address.
Rendell's Press Secretary Chuck Ardo said the renovations will allow Penn State to boast a state-of-the-art facility.
"[Rendell's] administration believes Penn State needs to have a law school to remain competitive with other universities of its size," Ardo said.
The government's monetary support comes from a particular lacking in the public education system, Ardo said.
"Given that Penn State is the commonwealth's flagship university and has not had a law school as part of its curriculum, this is an opportunity to add a well established and respected law school by all parties involved," Ardo said.
The Carlisle campus' overall renovation budget includes $15 million from private sources, $10 million from Penn State and a matching $25 million from the commonwealth, Knowlton said.
Lewis Katz donated $15 million to the overall building plans and will have a building named in his honor on the Carlisle campus; H. Laddie Montague, Jr. donated $4 million, Knowlton said, adding that the remaining funds will go to the law school's endowment.
Polshek Partnership Architects worked on the design of the renovation, as well as the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center and the Ed Sullivan Theater renovation, among others, according to the Dickinson School of Law Web site.
