Donors give Law School $90M

With more than half of the Law School's alumni donating, the conclusion of the Campaign for Michigan marked the end of the most successful fundraising campaign in the history of public legal education.

The Law School raised more than $90 million by its Sept. 30 deadline - exceeding its seven-year campaign goal by $15 million.

"It's incredible to know that the graduates of Michigan are so loyal and devoted that they want the next generation of law students to enjoy what they had," said Law School Dean Jeffrey Lehman. "About 10 gifts and pledges of $1 million or more were made, but we would not have been able to reach our goal without the incredibly broad support that we enjoyed at all levels."

Vice President for Development Thomas Kinnear said the Law School's campaign is particularly notable because it succeeded despite the fact that the school switched deans midway through the campaign, which began in 1990.

"It was a wonderful closing to a campaign by Dean Lehman and the campaign staff," Kinnear said.

Among the alumni donors was Campaign Chair Terrence Elkes, who celebrated the completion of the campaign with a $5 million challenge gift on top of the $90 million.

If Elkes' donation is matched, the $10 million will fund an endowment to perpetuate exceptional faculty research.

"I believe in giving back," Elkes, co-owner of the investment firm Apollo Partners Ltd., said in a written statement. "I know the importance of private support and the uniqueness of Michigan. It has a set of values often forgotten in this day of soundbites."

Provost Nancy Cantor said the success of the campaign makes a positive statement about the high value the University's alumni put on their education.

"This is just one of the many signs of how prominent and important the quality of our education at the University is," Cantor said.

Lehman said private donations are necessary to keep the law school competitive, although its main goal is to serve as a public university.

"We believe that the specific public values that we inherited as part of the University of Michigan make us a distinct university," Lehman said. "At the same time, we're building endowments that also allow us to compete with private institutions on their own terms."

Campaign donations at the Law School already have been put to use to: