Law school eyes funds

Last week N.C. Central University's law school received an intriguing proposal.

Bob Orr, director of the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, a former N.C. Supreme Court associate justice, proposed a constitutional law center at NCCU's law school  with $600,000 from the John W. Pope foundation.

Orr taught at NCCU's law school for 11 years.

"[He] sent us a proposal that proposed bringing a law center to our school," said NCCU law school dean Raymond Pierce.

The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law itself is primarily funded by the Pope Foundation, which is run by Art Pope, a conservative Republican who owns Variety Wholesalers, the parent company of discount chains Roses and Maxway.

Pope is a controversial figure, who some alleged was the architect behind the Republican capture of the Wake County School Board.

The new board proposed  the "neighborhood schools" platform, which requires students to stay in their communities and not be bused to schools outside their neighborhoods.

Critics say that this platform will result in a resegration of Wake County Schools.

"Art gets credit for and gets blamed for a lot of things," said Orr.

The Pope Foundation has spread its funds widely. Beneficiaries include N.C. State University, Duke University, Campbell University, UNC-Chapel Hill athletic programs and the YMCA of Raleigh.

In the past NCCU has benefited from the generosity of the Pope Foundation as well.  According to Orr the foundation provided funds for a mural of the U.S. Constitution on the second floor of the law school and for the school's speaker program.

In an email to Pierce, posted on BlueNC, a liberal blog, 2008 NCCU law graduate Sarah Jessica Farber, voiced her displeasure with proposed center being housed at the NCCU law school because of the institute's close ties with Art Pope.

"I want the law school to continue its storied tradition of producing not just lawyers, not just legislators, but social engineers who fight for the rights of under-served and under-represented populations," Farber wrote.

"I question the school's ability to continue that bold mission if its funding is tied to Pope monies, funds that seem to be destined to undermine civil rights."

Pierce is not surprised that the proposal has sparked interest from NCCU law alums.

"We have very engaged alumni, and it's a good thing that our alums really care about what goes on at their law school," he said. 

BlueNC blogger James Protzman  worries that with this proposal the law school would be selling itself out for a couple hundred thousand dollars to someone "who has a history of celebrating old rich white men ideologies."

"My fear is that he would bring that theory and mindset to the school," said Protzman.

John V. Orth, a UNC law professor and an expert on the N.C. Constitution, said he doesn't believe that the center will have a specific agenda. 

"I would not believe this was an attempt to teach a certain set of ideologies or viewpoints," he said.

The proposal calls for a law center that would collaborate with the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government and the NCCU history department to promote the study of  the N.C Constitution. 

"We see it as a nice opportunity to collaborate in areas where our research converges," said Aimee Wall, associate professor of public law and government at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government.

The law school's faculty curriculum committee has viewed the proposal and have asked Justice Orr for more information about the part that NCCU's history department will play in the collaboration.

The committee will make a recommendation to the faculty for a vote on whether they will accept the proposal.

"I have not developed an opinion yet, but I tend to look more at what's being said in the proposal as opposed to who the person is that is behind it," said Dionne Gonder-Stanley, an NCCU assistant professor of law.