Alaska is short on doctors and has legal issues faced by no other state. So why is it the only state that doesn't have a law school and just one of five states without its own medical school?
It's something Alaskans have talked about for decades. But the idea of starting the schools has never gone far, with skeptics objecting to the costs and questioning whether they're really needed.
The latest proposal is from Rep. Scott Kawasaki. His House Bill 38 is aimed at starting a medical school at the University of Alaska's Fairbanks campus and a law school at the Anchorage campus.
It's not getting much support in the Legislature. Kawasaki said he plans to try a new tack. If legislators don't want both a medical school and a law school, maybe they would support one or the other.
"If we get to divide the question perhaps, and talk separately about a law school program and a medical school program, we'll start to get some traction with legislators here," the Fairbanks Democrat said.
House Finance co-chairman Bill Stoltze said he thinks Kawasaki is just looking for headlines.
"I don't think that there is any serious consideration," Stoltze said. "We're struggling to make sure we have nursing programs, struggling to do things like the Medicare clinic in Anchorage. We're just trying to keep our heads above water."
Stoltze, a Republican from Chugiak, said other states have a lot of things Alaska might want.
"Why don't we have our own amusement park up here so Alaskans don't have to (go Outside)? It's probably just about as serious as his measure," Stoltze said.
IT'S NOT GOING AWAY
But even if the bill goes nowhere, the issue will be back. The law school idea, especially, has proponents, including a member of the University of Alaska board of regents. They say it would be cheaper than a medical school and Alaska law students now have no choice other than to leave home and go into big debt for out-of-state tuition or private school in the Lower 48.
Getting the Legislature to support an Alaska law school would be a challenge, though.
"I don't think there are a lot of legislators who personally think we want more lawyers in this state," Kawasaki said.
Kawasaki said he's heard more legislative interest in a medical school. But then it becomes a cost issue. Kawasaki figured it would cost about $60 million for the facilities and $40 million for the teaching staff to start with 200 students.
"We know that we've got an issue; we know we need more physicians," Kawasaki said. "And the only way to address that is either by adding more incentives, making Alaska a more attractive place to practice, or growing our own here. I think that ultimately is the way we need to go."
Rep. David Guttenberg, another Democratic legislator from Fairbanks, said he once considered putting in a bill to start a medical school. But that was before he started looking into it.
"When I talk to doctors and other people about doing it, they bring me to the reality of the situation," Guttenberg said. "It's a very expensive school. We don't have the economy of scale and the number of teaching doctors and stuff like that."
Guttenberg said he's glad Kawasaki is keeping the idea of a medical school alive for the future, though.
The Alaska State Medical Association doesn't have a position on starting a medical school in the state. Director Jim Jordan said there has to be a study of factors like demand, availability of residencies and research opportunities. He's not aware of any real analysis being done before.
"There needs to be a good, hard look at it to determine whether an Alaska-based medical school would be better than what we currently have," Jordan said.
The state now subsidizes 20 Alaska medical students a year through the University of Washington School of Medicine. The program is called WWAMI for the five states it represents - Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.
Those students can complete the first year of the program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. They go to the University of Washington the second year and can come back to Alaska for rotations the third and fourth years.
UNIVERSITY NOT ON BOARD
But nothing like WWAMI is available for Alaska law students. A member of the University of Alaska board of regents, Kirk Wickersham, has tried to convince his colleagues the state needs a law school.
Wickersham, a Yale law school graduate, will also make the case Monday at a presentation at the University of Alaska Anchorage. "Law is different from one state to another, especially Alaska ... Our constitution, ANCSA, ANILCA. Our foundational laws are unique," he said.
The Institute of Social and Economic Research at UAA concluded in a 2004 report that a law school wasn't feasible in the state. ISER said it would take 250 students to support a law school and that not enough Alaskans would attend.
ISER based its conclusion on the number of Alaskans who took the Law School Admission Test each year. Wickersham said the report was flawed. Many Alaskans don't bother to take the LSAT because they have no way to leave Alaska for law school, he said.
"My son-in-law would go to law school if he could do it here," Wickersham said. "But he didn't take the LSAT because he knows he can't go to school here. He has a job, he has a family. He can't just quit and go off to law school."
Wyoming, the Dakotas and Montana have viable law schools, he said. Alaska has a wealthier and better educated population than those states, as well as a bigger urban center in Anchorage, he said. He argues jobs are available and they can either go to Alaskans or to imports from the Lower 48.
Juneau Democratic Rep. Beth Kerttula, an attorney, supports the creation of an Alaska law school. Kerttula said rural Alaskans in particular should have a chance to go to law school and it would create a community of lawyers grounded in Alaska law.
Skeptics point to the grim job market for law school graduates nationally, with stories of lawyers dragged down by heavy debt and struggling to find work. There's also a certain attitude about lawyers.
"We always need doctors; I'm not sure about lawyers," said House Speaker Mike Chenault.
Reports exist of law schools often acting as cash cows for their universities, subsidizing other programs. ISER figured in its 2004 report an Alaska law school could cost $45 million, with annual operating costs of $6 million. The researcher supposed tuition might cover a third of annual costs.
The idea of starting either a law or a medical school in Alaska will have a hard time becoming a reality if the university doesn't begin pushing it. Wickersham took pains to say he's advocating for an Alaska law school on his own -- not speaking as a regent or for the University of Alaska.
University spokeswoman Kate Ripley said Kawasaki's proposal is being looked at:
"(We're) evaluating work force need, numbers of expected students, costs, how would it stack up against other existing priorities for students and programs."
Starting a medical school or a law school is clearly not a priority for the Board of Regents.
The board hasn't taken a position on Kawasaki's proposal.
"I personally think it's a great idea but we just don't have the money," said Fuller Cowell, board chair.
Find Sean Cockerham online at adn.com/contact/scockerham or call him at 257-4344.
By SEAN COCKERHAM
scockerham@adn.com