Cooley Law School's Auburn Hill Campus expansion nears completion

Thursday, October 9, 2008 | Source: metromode

Most people use the Chrysler headquarters as a landmark to direct people to the nearly finished Auburn Hills campus of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Not as easily seen is neighboring Oakland Community College's emergency response training center.

A small clump of trees separates the two colleges, which are, some might say, ironically close to one another. One of those campuses trains people to respond to emergencies, such as police, firefighters and ambulance drivers. The other teaches some of its students to chase them.

Lame jokes aside, an expansion of the latter (Cooley's Auburn Hills Campus) is almost complete. Students and faculty are expected to start moving into the new addition early next year, and all construction is expected to be complete by spring.

"It will gradually open over the winter semester," says John Nussbaumer, associate dean of Cooley's Auburn Hills Campus

The 62,000-square-foot addition will double the size of 67-acre campus' main building, a 1980s era GM/UAW building. The old-half of the enlarged structure will house meeting space, offices and a large law library. The new half will house classrooms, faculty offices and courtrooms for both practice trails and real ones.

"I already have one federal judge committed to bring his court up here and one circuit court judge," Nussbaumer says.

The modern-looking building is also going for LEED certification with a strong hand of environmentally friendly features. Its green credentials include reusing the existing structure, a 20,000 square foot green roof, using recycled materials such as carpet in the building and energy-efficient lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

The structure also incorporates skylights and expansive windows throughout. A significant outdoor terrace opens up to woodland and wildlife (a herd of deer still roam the grounds) around it.

Cooley opened its Oakland Campus on Oakland University six years ago with 28 students. Today it has 680 students at its new campus in Auburn Hills campus, 2630 Featherstone Road. It is expected to hold up to 800 within the next year or two.

"If the demand was there we could go above 1,000," Nussbaumer says.

More than 3,600 students attend the law school, founded in 1972, at its three locations in Lansing, Grand Rapids and Oakland County.

Source: John Nussbaumer, associate dean of Thomas M. Cooley Law School's Auburn Hills Campus
Writer: Jon Zemke