School of Law Launches Historic $50M Campaign

Kicking off the most ambitious fundraising drive in its history, University of Maryland School of Law leaders gathered earlier this month to launch the Making an Impact Campaign. At a formal kickoff celebration hosted by University System of Maryland Chancellor William Kirwan, Dean Karen Rothenberg announced that more than $25 million in commitments had already been secured toward a $50 million goal. These initial gifts total more than the entire $10 million goal of the School of Law's previous record-setting campaign.

"For nearly 200 years, the School of Law has been an engine for leadership in law, business, government and public service. This campaign will ensure our ability to continue that vital mission," said Dean Rothenberg.

The campaign's goals are rooted in the School of Law's mission of improving law and society through teaching, scholarship and public service. Among the goals are $20 million for student support, $20 million for faculty and program development, and $10 million for discretionary spending. Making an Impact, scheduled to run through 2012, is part of a comprehensive $650 million campaign being undertaken by the University of Maryland, Baltimore. It is being chaired by graduates Henry H. Hopkins ´68 and Joanne E. Pollak ´76.

"I am very proud that we have a very good state law school in Maryland, but an institution that stands still and doesn't try to improve itself ends up falling behind," said Hopkins. "This campaign, at this time, will ensure that Maryland has the innovative programs and energized faculty it requires to compete with the top law schools in the country."

The last five years have been a time of remarkable achievement for the School of Law. The amount of faculty scholarship published in the nation's leading law journals has tripled. Applications have increased from 2,700 to more than 4,000, making Maryland one of the nation's most selective law schools. Concurrent with these developments, the School of Law has risen more places in the U.S. News & World Report rankings than any other law school in the country, and now stands at #36.

At the campaign celebration, Chancellor Kirwan and UMB President David Ramsay congratulated the law school on its accomplishments, and recognized the generous individuals whose leadership gifts have boosted Making an Impact to such a successful start. Their words were echoed by Dean Rothenberg.

"With your help, we are not just making an impact; we are making a difference—in the lives of our students, in laws and policies informed by our faculty's scholarship, in the quality of our community, and in the future of American justice," she said. "It is difficult to consider how far we have already come in this campaign and not be moved by the generosity that made this progress possible."