University of Virginia Library

Must We Be Fragmented?

President Shannon's recent decision to
combine the capital funds allotted for
construction of new buildings for the
Graduate Business School and the School of
Law and begin construction on the new Law
School immediately probably means that the
die is cast: there is now very little chance that
these two schools will remain on the central
Grounds. Within a few years, the Law School,
the JAG School and the Graduate Business
School will exist, in effect, as separate
institutions out beyond Copeley Hill.

Groundswells of dissent against the move
are rising in the schools involved, and it may
be that President Shannon moved as he did to
cut this dissension off before it became
serious. But it appears that most of the Law
School faculty is willing to accept the move as
a necessary evil. Clark Hall is simply no longer
adequate to house the School of Law. There is
no money available for renovation; moreover,
if the Law School cannot expand, it may soon
be forced to accept a higher percentage of
Virginians, thus diluting the calibre of its
student body. Another argument in favor of
the move has been advanced by a wealthy
alumnus who has offered to donate a
substantial sum for the endowment of chairs
in the Law School only if the move is made.

Nonetheless, there are few people who
wholeheartedly endorse separation. The mile
or two that will separate the Law School from
the rest of the University may not appear to
be much of a barrier, especially if a University
transport system is initiated. But we believe
that two miles will prove to be as effective as
200 in abrogating contact between the
professional schools and the rest of the
University in day-to-day affairs. The most
prestigious school at the University will have
been divorced from it.

The new complex will effectively curtail
development of the interdisciplinary programs
that the Law School is just now beginning to
emphasise. Some students who really want
such a program will trek back to the Grounds
for it. But when the dormitory and cafeteria
complex is completed, the preponderant
majority will undoubtedly never do so. The
Law School and GSBA have always been
clannish; but the new situation will effectively
preclude any development in the opposite
direction, and this will be to the detriment of
both the professional schools and the rest of
the University.

More importantly, we fear for the future
of undergraduate education should the University
begin to develop a graduate complex
far from the central Grounds. The proposed
buildings will consume only 22 of the 80 acres
of land available at the site. As the University
grows, we feel that inevitably, the Administration
will seek to put that land to use. But
the Medical School is tied to the hospital and
too much capital has been invested in the
Science complex to move Engineering or the
natural sciences. There are only a few other
possibilities. The Commerce School will
probably move to join GSBA. And then, the
University will begin to cast about for
graduate departments which could be moved.
It seems unthinkable now, but the likelihood is
strong that in twenty years or so the College
will have two functionally separate divisions -
full professors and graduate students out
behind Copeley Hill, assistant professors
and undergraduates on the central Grounds.
Given the present trends in building, the
University will choose to grow outward rather
than upward. The Cabell Hall area will be too
crowded. And we know of few professors who
could not be persuaded to leave their
undergraduates behind and concentrate on
graduate students and research.

The University stands, therefore, at a
crossroads. It can choose to retain its pastoral
quality at the expense of fragmentation. Or, it
can choose to make land acquisition in the
residential areas South of Cabell Hall one of
its primary goals, ban cars from the central
Grounds, build upward rather than outward,
and use land like the Copeley Hill tract for
parking with bus service into the academic
areas of the Grounds.

As it grows, the University will have to
sacrifice some things; we feel, however, that
the predominance of the Rotunda is less
important than the essential unity of a
University community and the benefits that
go with it. There is land available which the
University owns, and it should look into the
prospects of buying more nearby even at
considerable expense. The Law and GSBA
complex would serve the University much
better it were located on Monroe Hill, in the
present Madison Lane area or some other
nearby site. Present plans may have an air of
finality, but no ground has been broken yet
and the feasible alternatives have not been
exhausted.