Alumni and Friends Contribute Record-Breaking Funds to Law School in FY 2014
William & Mary Law School’s alumni and friends supported the School in record-breaking numbers during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014.
Donations to the Law School’s Annual Fund totaled $2,303,576--the largest amount in the School’s history. The previous high mark was $2,073,222 in fiscal year 2013. Gifts to the Law School Annual Fund have increased by 48 percent since fiscal year 2011.
“William & Mary Law School is thriving as never before, and annual giving is an important part of our success,” said Davison M. Douglas, Dean of the Law School and Arthur B. Hanson Professor of Law. “This is a challenging time for legal education, but alumni and friends are helping us achieve the strongest position in our history.”
Private support is crucial in keeping costs as low as possible and offering significant financial aid for students. Annual gifts also fund the Law School’s research centers, clinical programs, library resources, and student organizations and journals.
Total giving to the Law School (including Annual Fund, endowment, building fund, and in-kind gifts) came to $4,509,870--also the largest amount in the Law School’s history. The total represents a 26 percent increase over last year’s previous high mark of $3,581,286.
A record level of endowment gifts--$1,619,010--enabled the Law School’s endowments to exceed $50 million in total value for the first time in the School’s history.
William & Mary continues to enjoy one of the strongest alumni giving rates of any law school in the United States, with nearly 26 percent of alumni making a gift this past year. More alumni contributed to the Law School last year than ever before.
Reunion giving played a large role in the School’s success. Nine classes--1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2009--celebrated milestone reunions in 2014 and raised a total of $3,408,648 in gifts and multi-year pledges--a new Law School record. The Class of 1974 claimed the best class participation rate with 47 percent of their class making a commitment.
“We are extremely grateful to the Class Reunion Chairs and Committee members who worked tirelessly on behalf of the Law School to produce these wonderful results,” Douglas said.
Student giving broke records as well. Ninety percent of the graduating class of 2014 made a pledge to the Law School’s Annual Fund, breaking the previous participation record of 88 percent held by the Class of 2001.
“This 90 percent participation rate is truly remarkable,” said Douglas. “In giving so freely, the Class of 2014 has demonstrated how much the law school experience means to them and to the school they want to remain a part of for life.”
Finally, more than 80 percent of the Law School faculty contributed to the Annual Fund last year, one of the school’s highest participation rates in the Law School’s history.
About William & Mary Law School
Thomas Jefferson founded William & Mary Law School in 1779 to train leaders for the new nation. Now in its third century, America's oldest law school continues its historic mission of educating citizen lawyers who are prepared both to lead and to serve.