Santa Clara University

From Promise to Prominence:  Campaign for Santa Clara University School of Law

Campaign Report

 

CAMPAIGN REPORT FROM THE DEAN

I am pleased to provide this report on the success of Santa Clara Law’s first capital campaign, From Promise to Prominence.

Following a well designed planning process, the campaign was publicly launched in spring 2003. The campaign sought support for the school’s most significant needs and its most compelling aspirations. Many people—graduates, faculty, staff, students, law firms, foundations, friends, our volunteer groups, the Dean’s Leadership Council, and the Board of Visitors—contributed to the campaign’s success.

The campaign goal of $12 million was met in April 2005. Upon completion of the campaign in December 2006, more than $17.5 million was raised. Of that total more than $2.5 million was given to support faculty through the establishment of a new endowed chair (and, after the campaign’s close, we received an additional $2 million planned gift for for a new endowed faculty chair, which will enhance our academic environment in the future); 34 new endowed scholarships were established at a total of $4.4 million; and more than $8.3 million was given to support law school programs, including the endowment of the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The campaign generated financial support for the school’s centers and institutes—The Center for Global Law and Policy, the Center for Social Justice and Public Service, and the High Tech Law Institute—and helped elevate them into national and international recognition. For example, the School of Law, through the work of its High Tech Law Institute, was recently named the fourth best law school in America for the study of intellectual property and high technology law. More than $1.9 million in support to the Northern California Innocence Project has allowed faculty working with students to secure the release of four wrongfully convicted people from prison. Gifts, mostly from law alumni, to the Law Annual Fund raised $1.8 million in unrestricted funds, supporting our initiatives to enhance student learning and to support faculty development, among others.

The results of From Promise to Prominence exceeded our most optimistic expectations. The campaign met its goal early and exceeded it by a considerable margin.

What does the success of the campaign mean for the School of Law? It means that many more students annually will receive scholarships to support their academic and professional goals. It also means that we can continue to attract and retain nationally recognized scholars and teachers to our faculty through the availability of endowed chairs of excellence.

The great success of the inaugural campaign gives us confidence that Santa Clara Law has supporters who believe in our academic and educational goals and aspirations and who will continue to support our plans for a stronger, more nationally prominent legal education program.

I hope you will read this report with appreciation for all who contributed to the campaign—by their gifts to the school, by their energy and leadership in the campaign, and by their willingness to do what was necessary to make it successful.

Finally, I’d like to add my personal thanks to all who made From Promise to Prominence a great success.

DONALD J. POLDEN

Dean

 

A NOTE FROM THE CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR

The best part of any campaign (whether political, military, or fundraising) is when it ends. That ending is even more satisfying when the campaign has been a successful one. I want to thank the alumni, friends, faculty, and staff of the law school for their impressive generosity that made this campaign such a success.

Daniel J. Kelly

We can all be proud that, with our support, Santa Clara Law continues to make marvelous strides academically, and remains committed to a solid core curriculum, which provides a quality, balanced, practical legal education.

It is well known that one of the benchmarks for evaluating a law school is its financial support from alumni and friends. Though we have lagged well behind our peers in this area in the past, the generous response shown in this campaign is evidence that we have made economic strides never before seen at the law school.

At the beginning of the campaign, then-dean Mack A. Player issued a challenge: "I call upon the alumni and friends of the school to step up and provide the financial assistance necessary to move Santa Clara University School of Law from promise to prominence." We did step up and then some. For that we can all be proud. However, we cannot now sit back and state "mission accomplished." Rather, as the law school continues its relentless pursuit of prominence, so must we, offering our continued financial support of the school and its goals.

Indeed, Santa Clara Law will continue to thrive beyond this magnificent chapter, as will our participation as catalysts for ongoing growth and development.

DANIEL J. KELLY ’69

Campaign Co-chair

 

EMILY ANDREWS ’07

Santa Clara Law provides incredible opportunities for aspiring public interest attorneys. The school’s emphasis on public interest programs, such as the Community Law Center and Fresh Lifelines for Youth, encourages students to develop practical skills to complement academic coursework. Through my participation in such programs, I discovered a passion for public defense work and remain committed to pursuing a career as a public defender.

Emily Andrews

I am a grateful recipient of the B.T. Collins public interest scholarship. I am most grateful, however, for the experience of applying and interviewing for the scholarship. This process required my reflection on the significance of public service work and demonstration of a commitment to public service. I enjoyed being able to share both the challenge and reward of my experiences working as a child advocate, teaching criminal law to probation youth, advising low-income clients on workers’ rights, and defending the indigent accused.

The interview also gave me the privilege of hearing about the life of B.T. Collins from his colleagues and closest friends. I remain inspired by his story, and I hope that my work in the legal field rises to the level of genuine care, dedication, and integrity that he exemplified.

 

OSCAR WARREN HUNTER ’08

On a practical level, the Watters and Law Faculty scholarships that I have received have enabled me to obtain an outstanding legal education, an opportunity that was almost foreclosed to me. And though this is the most obvious result, it is no small matter for a second-generation immigrant from the West Indies, the youngest of six, from a poor family. Earning my J.D. is more than an achievement of which I am very proud; it is a privilege that I take very seriously.

Oscar Warren Hunter

On a more personal level, however, these scholarships are a tangible representation of the confidence and the support that the faculty and administrators have shown in my ability to adapt and succeed in this extremely challenging endeavor. And that means more than some may realize at first glance. When alumni and the University endow these scholarships, it shows that there is a community of people who care about the future of the students, the law school, and the profession, a community that can be drawn upon to the benefit of all. Thank you to all the alumni and friends of Santa Clara Law who make these scholarships possible.