As a representation of tightened affiliations between the university and the law school, MSU trustees voted Friday to change the name of MSU-DCL College of Law to the Michigan State University College of Law

The law school's board of trustees voted Wednesday in favor of the name change, but discussions in the MSU Board of Trustees meeting Friday finalized the decision.

The change is a clear representation of the growing relationship between the university and the law college since it moved to East Lansing in 1997 as the Detroit College of Law, MSU Trustee Dee Cook said.

"Where it started and where it is today is quite a remarkable story," Cook said.

There has been a continuing push since the law school first moved to MSU's campus to integrate the law school and MSU's academic programs, Terence Blackburn, dean of the law college, said last month when the proposed name change was announced.

The school's name changed to MSU-DCL College of Law in 1999. While the MSU College of Law will be considered an entity of the university, it will maintain complete financial independence from MSU.

This affiliation will have a positive effect on both the reputation of the law school and the university, Trustee Don Nugent said.

"Its ratings will go up," Nugent said of the law school. "It is also a real positive for Michigan State University because the law school has totally identified with Michigan State University."

Blackburn said the name change was a necessary step in the college's relationship with the university.

"The name change reflects the reality of the extraordinary level of academic integration between the law college and the university," he said. "It came to the point where keeping the old name would have been misleading because it didn't reflect how much a part of the academic life of the university we have become."

Also at the meeting, the trustees passed proposals that would increase the cost of residence halls and create a new School of Planning, Design and Construction.

The new school will be under both the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Social Science, and would combine four different programs from three colleges.

The trustees also will vote on a $228 increase per year for the residence halls. The new cost of $5,458 per school year becomes effective in the fall, but it still places MSU as having the most inexpensive housing rates of all the Big Ten universities, as well as Michigan universities.

Tina Reed can be reached at reedtina@msu.edu.