BREAKING NEWS:

UC Irvine received approval Thursday to open a law school on its campus, fulfilling a dream that the university has held onto for more than four decades.

At the UC Board of Regents’ meeting, held on the UCLA campus, the members voted to accept Chancellor Michael Drake’sÖ plan for a law school that would serve 600 students and encourage graduates to apply for public-sector jobs and work with underserved communities. With the school now approved, UCI plans to begin a nationwide search for a founding dean and admit its first class in 2009.

“We are extremely pleased that the University of California selected Irvine to develop the state’s next premier public law school,” Drake said in a release. “Orange County’s dynamic economy and diverse population, combined with UCI’s reputation for building outstanding programs and the incredible level of local support, give us great confidence in the future excellence of our School of Law.”

UCI’s program will be the fifth public law school in California, joining those at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UCLA and Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. UCI will be the first one to open since Davis in 1965.

The campus growth plan at UCI already includes funds to open a law school, and the university plans to cover other expenses through tuition fees and private donations. The state is not expected to put up additional money for the program.