Maine Law's Pitegoff: The Dean as Change Manager

Peter Pitegoff

Peter Pitegoff didn't go to law school just to be a lawyer, and he didn't come to the University of Maine School of Law just to be the dean.

He sees things in terms of change for growth to meet clear goals, and he believes he came to the right place. “This is an institution on the move, no question,” he said in a recent interview. “It has tremendous potential to break out. My perspective is to aim high.”

With a full academic year under his belt, the goals are indeed clear: A new Law School building, a larger student body, a much broader set of constituencies . . . and a major boost in the national profile of the Maine School of Law.

One of the constituencies of interest to Dean Pitegoff is the business community, and the access provided by USM Corporate Partners. He'd like business people to see the law school as a generator of new ideas and talents. “The law school can create opportunities for innovative economic development strategies,” he said.

At the same time, that role has specific applications: “Not everybody graduating from law school practices law. Many go into business. We are generating community leaders, who can be leaders in business. We are an institution that can provide value.”

Decades . . . and Pretty Soon 

Similarly, he has a long view and a short list for the law school's future.

“We have the luxury of the academy,” he says of one aspect. “We work on the calendar, not on the clock.” He describes the law school as a young institution, “only 4½ decades old, in a formative stage. . . . We're still looking where the law school can be in a few years, a few decades.”

Still, some of his intentions have a strong whiff of immediacy. The law school's need for a new building is central to much of Pitegoff's thinking, and he has anything but a long view on that topic. A new building is a high priority, either on USM's Portland campus, or maybe in a renovated building closer to the courts.

It's not just the space that's needed, although the existing 1970s structure won't accommodate the 30 percent enrollment increase the dean envisions, and in fact can't even support the weight of additional books in the library. He notes that the word around the nation about the Maine School of Law is highly respectful of the educational program, very critical of the facility.

New Building = 'Widened Commitment' 

“We're leading with program, not need,” he says, envisioning a modern building that is more than just adequate educational housing. It is integral to a “widened engagement with economic development, public policy, the nonprofit sector, and the broader academic community.”

He looks to enhancing the institution's relationship with constituencies that spread from the students, staff, and faculty to local and state policymakers, to Maine 's leaders in technology, to law school alumni and national media.

While a heightened image around the country is a matter of pride, it also is a proven instrument to attract top scholars and top students. As part of his role in enhancing the school's more distant relationships, Pitegoff has been visiting alumni groups in such places as Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Seattle . Those alumni can help law school grads find jobs, and they can help recruit top students. And they can assist with burnishing the image.

Career with a Purpose 

Internally, much of the new dean's attention has been focused on adding from his experience to a curriculum, and community-based initiatives of the law school, that he acknowledges already are excellent.

“I became a lawyer intentionally,” he explained. “I thought being a lawyer would more effectively allow me to deal with the political economy, how the system works.” He wanted to do that so he could contribute the legal element to a consulting firm in Massachusetts whose aim was to preserve jobs, help struggling businesses and unions, and support employee-owned enterprises.

As his career moved to the University Buffalo Law School (New York's only state university law school), he gradually worked those ideas into innovative clinical experiences for law students. Now, Maine Law's Center for Law and Innovation and Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic are among programs that are expanding more clinical involvement for students.

Building as Emblem 

With all that, a new law school building is vital for adequate housing of a top-flight law school of the 21st century, and also a powerful element in the vision of change.

“The building can be an emblem, to attract and focus attention” on an excellent and growing law school, the dean believes.

Dean Peter Pitegoff has an evocative way of referring to the overall vision of a Maine School of Law: “Out of the shallows and into deeper waters.” The captain has spoken and the ship is under way.

-- Jim Milliken

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Linda Siglock has found her student membership in USM Corporate Partners to be a useful part of a long and successful preparation for her upcoming business career

Linda moved with her children to Maine from New Mexico in 1998 to attend USM. She received a business degree in 2002. Now she is a senior majoring in accounting. Prior to attending USM, Linda had experience in nonprofits and small retail business, which facilitated her interest in pursuing her degrees in business and accounting.

Joining Corporate Partners gave her “a glimpse into the business community in the greater Portland area, a wonderful opportunity to meet great people, and a chance to develop my networking skills,” she said.

“I am grateful for my experiences here at USM. The professors have been incredible. I have had a chance to gain the necessary tools and book knowledge as well as develop important skills in the community through membership in the accounting and finance society, internships, and Corporate Partners.”

Linda is working as an intern at MacdonaldPage in South Portland and will be joining the staff as a full-time accountant after graduation.

2005-06 STUDENT CORPORATE PARTNERS

• Matthew Bastide
  
  
• Jennifer Blumenthal
  
  
• Wendy Carter
  
  
• Jessica Coffren
  
  
• Kimberly Dakin
  
  
• Brandon Despins
  
  
• James Frost
  
  
• Emma Ingalls
  
  
• Holly Johnson
  
  
• Stacy LeBlanc
  
  
• Jessica Manzo
  
  
• Conor McCormick
  
  
• Carissa O'Brien
  
  
• Ezra Poore
  
  
• Heather Quimby
  
  
• Alec Sabina
  
  
• Linda Siglock
  
  
• Barbara Silke
  
  
• Chandler Thayer
  
  
• Jami Thomas
  
  
• Ben van der Schaaf