Law School Launches Historic $80M Fundraising Campaign

With more than 225 alumni and supporters from around the country gathered at Mondale Hall on Friday evening, April 20, the Law School launched the public phase of an $80 million fundraising campaign, the largest in its 130-year history.

The money raised through the Driven campaign will be used to create transformational programs and superior experiential learning opportunities for students; recruit and retain world-class faculty members; attract promising and diverse students; and secure the Law School’s place at the forefront of legal education.

The fundraising initiative is part of Driven: The University of Minnesota Campaign to raise $4 billion systemwide to support the University’s three-part mission of education, research, and outreach for the benefit of all Minnesotans and fuel its quest to solve the world’s grand challenges of our time. The Law School has adopted as the tagline for its portion of the Driven campaign “Driven to Lead.”

Amy Seidel ’98, chair of the Law School Board of Advisors, opened the evening’s remarks by expressing her pride in the Law School, followed by University Campaign Co-Chairs John and Nancy Lindhal, who introduced Dean Garry W. Jenkins.

“I would argue we can’t tackle grand challenges without law, without lawyers, without legal institutions,” Dean Jenkins said at the launch event. “Our world and our communities need capable lawyer-leaders who can analyze problems, challenge assumptions, think rigorously, contribute creative ideas, model integrity, and work across boundaries. This campaign is about us creating leaders, about leading change, about being a leading public law school.”

The campaign prioritizes these four areas for investment:

• $32 million for transformational programs, including clinical and experiential learning, leadership training, and other curricular and co-curricular professional skill building activities;
• $8 million in faculty support, including endowing professorships, fortifying academic research centers, and expanding research resources in critical areas;
• $30 million in student support, including additional resources for financial aid and public service fellowships;
• $10 million in unrestricted support to allow the Law School to remain flexible, innovative, and resilient in responding to challenges.

Jenkins emphasized both the ambitious nature of the campaign and the Law School community’s deep commitment to it. The Law School has already received several leadership gifts as part of the early phase of the campaign, including a $25 million gift from the Robina Foundation announced in 2017 to support clinical legal education and student scholarships.

Yet, the Law School is at a critical inflection point, Jenkins said. "With the legal profession and higher education undergoing significant change, the Law School must grow its philanthropic support base to ensure it has the resources necessary to carry on its storied tradition of excellence and to continue to cultivate tomorrow’s leaders," he explained. “Thanks to the generosity of our alumni and friends we are well on our way towards ensuring that we remain leaders in legal education for the next century. Because the world needs the University of Minnesota Law School and the lawyers we educate.”

Learn more about the Driven Campaign, which will run through June 2021..