May 18, 2009

Cooley Opens New Addition, Doubles Size Of Auburn Hills Campus

May 28 event commemorates 65,000-square-foot expansion

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School today announced the opening of a 65,000-square-foot addition, doubling the size of its Auburn Hills facilities at 2630 Featherstone Road. Dedication of the project, which is part of Cooley’s $36 million investment, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on May 28 and will include remarks from State Bar of Michigan President Edward H. Pappas.

With campuses in Lansing and Grand Rapids, Cooley purchased its 67-acre wooded site in Auburn Hills in June 2007. Cooley renovated the existing 65,000-square-foot facility on property that had sat vacant on the site for seven years, opening that facility in January 2008. The new 65,000-square-foot addition includes courtrooms, classrooms, legal clinics, and offices for the school’s expanded advanced degree programs in corporate law and finance, intellectual property, and taxation.

The milestone caps Cooley’s remarkable growth in southeast Michigan, which began in September 2002 with just 28 students, three offices and one 40-seat classroom in shared facilities on the campus of nearby Oakland University, Cooley’s exclusive educational partner in southeast Michigan. Today, more than 670 students are enrolled at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus.

“In a knowledge economy, higher education plays a primary role in the prosperity of the state and we are pleased to provide increased access to Cooley’s exceptional educational programs,” Thomas M. Cooley Law School President Don LeDuc said. “In addition to offering a world-class learning environment, this dedicated campus will increase the region’s intellectual capital for years to come.”

About 70 percent of the students enrolled at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus are Michigan residents, with most residing in Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties. Approximately 30 percent of the students are from out-of-state, moving to Michigan to pursue their education and contribute to the local economy.

The 130,000-square-foot facility is the newest, largest, and most technologically advanced law school campus in the metropolitan Detroit area. It offers complete wireless Internet access, two computer labs, four state-of-the-art, high-definition videoconferencing classrooms that connect all three Cooley campuses, and features many classrooms equipped with high-quality, digital-sound recording systems, enabling students to download recorded class podcasts for later study. A final phase of renovation will add 10,000 square feet to the library, which is housed in the original building.

The new campus is expected to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification later this year, making it the first LEED-certified law school in Michigan. The building’s green features include a living green roof over much of the new addition, an enhanced heating and cooling system, and use of many renewable and recyclable materials.

“The centralized administrative services and economies of scale that President LeDuc has built into our three-campus system means lower tuition for our students, which we know is particularly important in today’s economy,” said Auburn Hills campus Associate Dean John Nussbaumer. “Our expanded facilities will enable Cooley to provide students with increased options for full-time and part-time education, including evening and weekend programs, and year-round scheduling that allows part-time students to graduate in three years.”

“Cooley is a national leader in providing quality educational opportunities for diverse students from all walks of life, and in providing them with an education that emphasizes not just academic knowledge, but also practical skills and professional ethics,” said Edward H. Pappas, President of the State Bar of Michigan. “This new facility will provide Cooley’s students and the State Bar with increased opportunities to work together to better serve the people of the State of Michigan.”

Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the country.  Founded in 1972, it operates J.D. programs across Michigan in downtown Lansing, Auburn Hills and downtown Grand Rapids.  Today, Cooley Law School has more than 13,000 graduates across the nation and worldwide and also offers joint degree and master of laws programs.  Cooley offers enrollment three times a year; in January, May and September.  Additional information about Cooley can be found at www.cooley.edu.