BU Law Fund Donations Surpass $1 million in FY2016
Contributions soared in June, when Bruce Rakay (’73) challenged young alumni to support the School before the close of the fiscal year.
In the 2016 fiscal year, 1,628 alumni, faculty, and friends contributed more than $1 million to the Boston University School of Law Fund. Among the five priorities of the Building on Excellence Campaign, the Law Fund raised $6.2 million of its $10 million goal as of June 30.
Law Fund donations provide unrestricted funds—resources that can be used when and where they are most needed, including student scholarships and loan repayment assistance. The Fund has a direct impact on student life, making it a fitting place for many young alumni to begin supporting the School. To encourage such giving, Class of 1973 alum Bruce Rakay recently issued a challenge to young alumni: if 100 alumni who graduated between 2006 and 2016 donated to BU Law in the month of June, he would give $10,000 to the Law Fund. After a strong show of support from alumni, Rakay did his part to support the Law Fund.
“The education I received at BU Law—and the financial aid that supported it—provided me with the skills and experience I needed to build a truly rewarding career with the Office of the Attorney General in Ohio,” Rakay says. “I want to encourage others to give back to the School as well, which is why I offered the gift with the challenge to young alumni.”
In 2015–2016, Dean Maureen O’Rourke used $656,000 from the Law Fund to support financial aid to BU Law students. The Law Fund also supplements funding for post-graduation fellowship opportunities, like the Public Service Fellowships, which allow a select group of the most recent class of graduates to work full-time for up to a year in unfunded public interest organizations.
Rakay’s $10,000 gift, along with the donations made by young alumni in June, will support a number of initiatives in addition to financial aid, including moot court, faculty research, student organizations like the Public Interest Project, and new academic offerings like the Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property & Cyberlaw Program, created in partnership with MIT.
Daniel Broderick (’10), an associate with Blank Rome in Washington, DC, made his first gift to BU Law as a 3L, and has since supported the School regularly. “The University played a substantial role in my personal and professional development,” he says. “I give in recognition not only of the education and degree, which have advanced my career goals, but also of the lasting relationships I formed while I was in law school.”
To celebrate the crucial support donors have provided to BU Law, Dean O’Rourke is hosting a cookout on Boston’s waterfront. The family friendly event will take place August 13 at the InterContinental Boston, and will feature food, drinks, lawn games, and the opportunity to come together with BU Law alumni, faculty, and staff.
“The Building on Excellence Campaign and the Law Fund have helped BU Law achieve extraordinary things,” says Dean O’Rourke. “I am consistently inspired by our many friends who give what they can in support of our School. I look forward to connecting with alumni and their families at our upcoming event and in my travels this year.”
Support from our alumni makes it possible for future generations of lawyers to benefit from some of the finest academic programming and teaching faculty in the nation. If you are interested in making a gift to BU Law, please do so here bu.edu/lawgiving
