Yet another surprise was the email Closius wrote the day after his resignation, describing his concerns with the way the university was spending law school funds.
Per the article, he was quoted as having written in his email: ''I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable justifying tuition and fee increases to law students when the money was actually being used to fund non-law University initiatives.'' Also, according to the article, he said he ''was troubled by steady cost increases for law students, noting that tuition for in-state students has gone up 70 percent over the past seven years and tuition for out-of-state students has risen 48 percent in the same period.''
In addition, the following is an excerpt from the letter Closius wrote to the University of Baltimore law school:
''The unwillingness of the University to discuss in a meaningful way the growing imbalance in the financial relationship was also becoming a matter of principle to me. We have increased our in-state tuition over 70% and our out-of-state tuition over 48% in the last seven years. ... I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable justifying tuition and fee increases to law students when the money was actually being used to fund non-law University initiatives. I was also concerned about my continuing effectiveness as Dean given statements by University officials that there were no plans to remedy the situation and that significant funding for School of Law programs was not a University priority.''
On Closius's four year watch, the law school has risen from 170 to 117 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. During this time, he also oversaw the groundbreaking for the school's new $100 million plus law center.
The consensus among students was that Closius had done an admirable job and was a true advocate for both the law school and students.
John Petrovick, a recent UB law school graduate was quoted as saying in the article: ''I was deeply disturbed by the letter to the student body and the news that Dean Closius was forced to resign. In general, the student body felt that Dean Closius was doing great things for the school of law. We didn't all like the fast-paced changes we were forced to endure during our law school education, but we all tolerated it because we truly believed he would make our degrees much more valuable in the future.''
Closius served as Dean of the School of Law from 2007 to 2011. Prior to coming to Baltimore, he served at the University of Toledo College of Law as a professor and associate dean. He earned numerous awards for his work, and has authored a number of journal articles. Prior to his academic career, he practiced corporate law at Kelley Drye & Warren in New York.
