The appointment of a new member to the Board of Regents has cast the spotlight on whether the university should have a law school.

Kirk Wickersham, an Anchorage attorney appointed to the board by Gov. Sarah Palin, once included Alaska's need for a law school as part of a campaign platform for the state Legislature. When he was named to the board in January, the governor's office issued a press release quoting him on the topic.

"I am particularly interested in exploring the option of creating a law school within the University," he said in the statement.

Wickersham declined to comment on the record about the matter, saying he wished to first present it officially to the full board. But students and faculty expressed mixed opinions on the matter.

"I find it very encouraging that Wickersham supports a law school," said ASUAF President.

Gilkey said during a meeting with several administrators last year, the general feeling was that a law school would be needed someday.

Gilkey had planned at one point to attend law school, though he isn't currently, he said.He still supports the idea, though, adding it would allow the in-depth study of Alaska-specific law.

Mandie Norris, a justice major and ASUAF senator, hopes to go to law school after graduation and pursue a career in criminal justice.

"I want to go to law school, but I don't want to have to go out of state for it," she said. "But I'll go where I have to go."

A disadvantage for Alaska not having a law school, Norris said, is the "brain drain" of students going out of state to go to law school and staying there.

How UA law school students would fair in the marketplace is also an issue. A glance at 17 peer institutions like University of Montana, Oregon State University, University of Wisconsin shows a variety of trends.

According to the Internet Legal Research Group, the University of Colorado at Boulder, for example, has a 72 percent rate of employment at graduation from its law school, compared to 96 percent at Cornell University.

The percentage of students who pass the bar exam also varies, from 83 percent at Southern Illinois University to an amazing 100 percent at University of Wisconsin.

Among some faculty, though, a law school isn't a good idea. Jerry McBeath, a political science professor, said Alaska doesn't suffer from a brain drain. Law students from top-notch schools return to the state, he said.

"The demand is well-supplied," McBeath said.

A law school in general is "a bad idea whose time may come," McBeath said. The demand for lawyers in Alaska is not higher than the supply, and it would be difficult for the state and the university to establish a good law school. It would also divert money from already under-funded departments, he said.

"It's a hugely expensive proposition," McBeath said.

Although no one has said where any law school would be established, McBeath said it would probably divert more money to UAA.

Other faculty were more receptive of establishing a law school. Associate justice professor David Blurton was previously a private attorney and is still a member of the Alaska Bar Association.

"Would it be good for Alaska?" he asked. "Absolutely."

Blurton said while the demand for lawyers in Alaska isn't high, it would be good for students.

"It would be more of a benefit for local residents to go to law school in-state," he said.

He noted many law schools currently require out-of-state students to remain out-of-state students until graduation.

"It's a matter of convincing the Legislature that there is a need," he said.