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Ave Maria to Relocate Law School Once Again
The National Law Journal
April 28, 2008
Ave Maria School of Law, apparently unable to sell naming rights to its planned new building in Ave Maria, Fla., will instead move to an older building in nearby Naples.
According to the Naples Daily News, Ave Maria made the stunning announcement in a press release April 17. The school cited "declining national economy and ongoing high construction costs due to the rising prices of raw materials" as reasons for the change in location.
When the school started by Domino's Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan first announced in February 2007 it was moving from Ann Arbor, Mich., to the town Monaghan was starting in southwest Florida, the plan was to relocate to a posh new building. Drawings of the new school were even released.
The first signs of financial woe came in December 2007 when Ave Maria announced it wanted to sell naming rights to the building for $20 million to fund construction.
Apparently, there have been no takers. Instead, according to the press release, the school will move into modest digs -- the former Ave Maria University temporary campus 35 miles away.
The announcement is the latest chapter in the school's turbulent history. In early April, Eugene Milhizer was named interim dean of the law school -- just days after U.S. News and World Report again ranked Ave Maria in the lowest fourth tier.
A lawsuit filed against the school by professors who say they were fired is continuing.
