Gift Funds and Priority Programs

The Law Firm Challenge: The South Texas Law Firm Challenge was created in 2007 to bring South Texas graduates at firms together for a common purpose: maintaining excellence in legal education at South Texas College of Law. The goal of the Law Firm Challenge is to achieve 100 percent participation in giving to the law school by South Texas alumni at each law firm, corporate legal department, and law office throughout the United States that employs three or more alums.

Hays, McConn, Rice & Pickering was the first firm to meet the challenge. Managing partner and South Texas Board chair Mike Hays ’74, who initiated the program, encouraged each South Texas graduate at the firm to make a gift to the law school in any amount during the 2007–2008 academic year, so his firm could be the first to achieve 100 percent participation in giving to the college. By September 2009, nine additional firms had met the challenge.

Among the groups having an impact on law schools – including their accrediting body, the ABA, and foundations and corporations that make grants to them – alumni giving is viewed as a measure of graduates’ satisfaction with their alma maters. The Law Firm Challenge offers an excellent way for alumni at firms to provide unrestricted support to the law school.

To qualify for membership, 100 percent of the South Texas graduates at a firm contribute gifts of any amount to the law school’s Annual Fund or other gift initiative during the fiscal year, which runs from September 1 to August 31. Participating organizations are divided into the following three groups, based on the number of South Texas alumni they employ:

Group I: 3–5 alumni 
Group II: 6–9 alumni
Group III: 10 or more alumni

In honor of their accomplishment, all individuals and organizations from each of the above three groups that participate in the Law Firm Challenge will be recognized in the alumni magazine, InRe. Law firms, corporate legal departments, and law offices that achieve 100 percent alumni giving to South Texas will be recognized as well by having the names of their organizations displayed on a special section of the law school’s Partners in Excellence donor wall, and in a special section of the Annual Report to Donors.

To participate in the South Texas Law Firm Challenge, please contact Alice Morris, assistant director of Development, at 713-646-1796 or amorris@stcl.edu. Click here to track the progress of participating organizations.

Reunion and Class Giving Program: Introduced this fiscal year, the Reunion and Class Giving Program offers an opportunity for classes to reunite and celebrate with classmates at an all-class reunion in the spring. As an important component of the first annual reunion weekend, to be held on April 9-10, 2010, classes ending with 0 – 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 – will have an opportunity to present a class gift to the dean as part of the reunion celebrations. Honoree classes will rotate every year in accordance with the ending number of their graduation year, i.e. 1, 2, 3, etc. While providing a powerful impetus for increased participation in giving to South Texas, reunion giving also helps to strengthen individual and class ties with the law school. It also exemplifies pride in the past and excitement for what the future will bring!

To connect with class representatives click here. Alumni not in a reunion year are encouraged to get involved with their class activities and support the law school as well.

 

The LEAD Fund: During the 2007 spring semester, the third-year class initiated a recurring class gift program at South Texas College of Law by establishing the Legal Eagle Alumni Donation (LEAD) Fund. The LEAD Fund, which is part of the College’s Annual Fund, offers an opportunity for all classes to leave their mark on the law school before they graduate. The program, which is administered by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, is designed to promote student leadership and new alumni involvement. In September 2007, the Class of 2007 presented the law school with the inaugural LEAD Fund gift. The Classes of 2008 and 2009 followed in their footsteps, and now 3L giving has tripled.

Thank you for considering a gift to the South Texas College of Law Annual Fund and enhancing your connection with the law school. In addition to the direct ways your gift influences the lives of those in the law school community, your participation in the Annual Fund is an important indication to prospective students and their families that South Texas alumni stand behind the law school and the exemplary education it provides.

The 2009-2010 Annual Fund year begins September 1 and ends August 31. To make a gift now, click here, or to learn how you can join us in our mission, please contact Alice Morris, assistant director of Development, at 713-646-1796.

Recognition and Giving Societies: Gifts of any amount are appreciated and make a tangible difference in the programs and reputation of South Texas College of Law. All donors to the college between September 1 and August 31 each year are recognized in the Annual Report to Donors. The Partners in Excellence Donor Wall, prominently located in the front hallway of the law school, displays for one year the names of those who contribute $250 or more by August 31. Listed below are levels of giving available for you to choose from.

Dean’s Counselor…………..…..…Gifts up to $249 Garland Walker Patron……..………..… $250-$999 Spurgeon Bell Fellows Society Fellow………………………….….….$1,000-$2,499 Senior Fellow…………………...…...$2,500-$4,999 Gold-Level Fellow………………...…$5,000-$9,999 Platinum-Level Fellow…………….$10,000 and up

The Spurgeon Bell Fellows Society is the law school’s elite donor society, whose yearlong membership is established with a gift of at least $1,000. Bell Society Fellows and their guests are invited to an annual dinner, hosted by the South Texas College of Law Board of Directors, to celebrate their generosity.

Endowment Funds

Endowments are permanent funds that recognize the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor in perpetuity. They provide South Texas College of Law with a continuing source of support for faculty chairs, professorships, scholarships, awards, and other programs. Endowments are established through a formal agreement process. Please contact Kim Parker, vice president for Development and Alumni Relations, at 713-646-1803 for more information.

Faculty Chairs and Professorships

Endowments supporting faculty chairs and professorships enable outstanding professors to pursue new areas of research and innovative teaching methods. These types of endowments help South Texas attract and retain the finest faculty members.

A select number of South Texas faculty members who have achieved excellence in teaching and legal scholarship are honored by the College with distinguished professorships. These professorships, as well as research professorships, are established by South Texas alumni and friends through endowment gifts.

Four distinguished professorships and three research professorships have been established to date:

• The Spurgeon E. Bell Distinguished Professorship of Law, held by R. Randall Kelso
• The Stanley J. Krist Distinguished Professorship of Texas Law, held by Elaine A. Carlson
• The W. James Kronzer, Jr., Distinguished Professorship in Advocacy, held by T. Gerald Treece
• The Charles J. Weigel II Distinguished Professorship, currently open
• The Godwin Ronquillo, PC, Research Professorship, held by Charles W. “Rocky” Rhodes
• The Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. Research Professorship, held by Val Ricks
• The Harry ’56 and Helen Hutchens Research Professorship, held by Timothy Zinnecker

The establishment of professorships by South Texas alumni and friends signifies their commitment to the College’s future academic growth.

Scholarships
Scholarships enable South Texas College of Law to attract and provide educational opportunities to a talented and diverse body of students. The College currently maintains more than 60 named scholarships and awards, many of which are endowed. When establishing a scholarship, a donor may determine any special terms and conditions and help designate the criteria for how the scholarship fund will be awarded, such as financial need and academic merit. It takes a minimum of $10,000 to establish an endowed scholarship, which could be fully funded upon inception or paid out over a designated period of time, with additional contributions made at any time thereafter. Endowed scholarship awards are made available from interest income earned; their distribution is based on a spending rate determined annually by the South Texas College of Law Board of Directors.

For a list of named scholarships and awards, click here. 

Priority Programs

Centers of Excellence
The South Texas Centers of Excellence, listed below, offer specialized programs and resources for students, faculty, and the local, national, and international legal community. Through the achievements of our longest operating center, the Advocacy Program, South Texas continually ranks among the top ten in trial advocacy in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools. All of our Centers of Excellence help the College attract top students and faculty. We invite you to talk with our Office of Development and Alumni Relations, as well as our center directors, to determine how your gift can make the most meaningful impact on these initiatives. For more information on the centers, please click on the links below.

Frank Evans Center for Conflict Resolution
Director, Kimberlee K. Kovach, 713-646-2998

Advocacy Program
Director, Professor T. Gerald Treece, 713-646-1776

Corporate Compliance Center
Director, Danna Walton, 713-646-1788

Transactional Practice Center
Director, Professor W. David East, 713-646-1879

For more information on how you can support the Centers of Excellence, please contract Alice Morris, Assistant Director of Development, at 713-646-1796 or amorris@stcl.edu.