This law school conducts meetings on a seven-seat conference bike
The Campbell University law school acquired its conference bike about a week ago. Photo courtesy of Campbell Law.
Why host meetings at a conference table when you can be riding a conference bike?
That was the thought of J. Rich Leonard, the dean of Campbell University’s law school, who saw a conference bike at a moot court competition in Vienna and decided to bring the idea to his school in Raleigh, North Carolina. Law.com has a story; a press release is here.
The bike seats seven people in a round configuration, and it moves with pedal power. One person gets to steer.
Leonard had his bike specially made in the university’s orange color. Known as a CoBi, the conference bike is available for meetings of faculty, staff and students.
The bike evolved from the work of American artist Eric Staller. In an interview posted at his website, he said he designs mobile artworks that he calls Urban UFOs. His eight-person performance artwork bike evolved into the patented, seven-person conference bike.
Leonard declined to tell Law.com how much the bike cost, but he says it was below the online price of $12,750.
Leonard said he didn’t use money from the school’s operations budget to buy the CoBi. “I have some very generous donors who give me money to do edgy, creative things that get the law school noticed,” he told Law.com.
The bike arrived about a week ago, and a group tried it out last week. Leonard said he learned during an inaugural run that, at 1,000 pounds, the bike requires some effort. “We realized, coming up a hill, we’ve all got to pedal or you won’t get up,” Leonard told Law.com. “I recommend avoiding steep hills.”
