Very informative piece, making vivid what has probably gone on at many schools in recent years:

The University of Minnesota has seen the worst of hard times that hit the nation’s law schools — and things should start looking up.

 

That was the prediction of the law school’s outgoing dean in a Thursday presentation to U regents chock-full of sobering statistics and a dash of hopeful news.

 

The law school, which has seen its applicant pool shrink by almost half and its enrollment dip by a third since 2010, has a plan to pull through, leaders said.

 

“It looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and it isn’t that far out,” said David McMillan, the board’s vice chair and a graduate of the law school.

 

Dean David Wippman said he expects that by 2020, the law school can end its reliance on year-end financial injections from the university to balance its budget, totaling about $16 million since 2012.

 

The measures the law school has been taking will likely continue to sting, though: Faculty will keep shrinking by attrition, and the school will stick with austerity measures, from support staff cuts to the end of free coffee in the faculty lounge.