Concordia University School of Law, which planned to reopen this fall as an affiliate of Concordia University St. Paul, has announced it will instead shut down.
Interim Dean Latonia Haney Keith informed students, faculty members and staff on Thursday afternoon that the law school’s original sponsor, Concordia University in Portland, and Concordia St. Paul could not reach a final agreement for the transfer.
“It’s incredibly disheartening for us today,” Haney Keith told the Idaho Statesman during an interview. “This was unforeseen and inexplicable in many respects. We were expecting to fully transition to St. Paul, but it unraveled in such a surprising way.”
The deal unraveled over the past few days. Haney Keith would not elaborate, saying due to pending litigation she couldn’t say anything.
“We really just are not able to provide details,” she said.
Hotchalk, a private California company that helped run Concordia Portland’s online education program, has sued the Portland school. It says Concordia owes $300 million.
Concordia St. Paul offered to buy the Boise campus for market value. But because of the lawsuit and liens placed on the property, Concordia Portland could not sell it.
“Concordia University St. Paul is deeply disappointed that our institution is unable to acquire the Concordia University Portland Law School in Boise,” the university said in a statement. “The parties worked diligently with a unified objective to transfer and maintain the Concordia law program.”
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