We are delighted to announce that the W. P. Carey Foundation, one of the leading supporters of educational institutions, has given Penn the largest gift ever to a law school: $125 million. In recognition of the Foundation’s generosity and in honor of the Carey family and its long-term involvement with Penn, the Penn Board of Trustees today approved a resolution designating that the school will now be named the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
With this transformative gift, the Carey Law School will build upon its already strong and highly recognized academic programs, attracting the most talented students who graduate prepared to succeed as lawyers and leaders. The gift will allow the Carey Law School to increase student financial support, ensuring robust support for historically underrepresented students in both legal education and the profession; to further invest in innovative interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial programming; and to support the recruitment of the finest scholars who will generate new research insights that will inform and impact the profession.
In addition, the gift will enrich students’ preparation for long-term career success by expanding upon one of the longest-standing, rigorous, and expansive pro bono programs of any peer law school, and by enabling Carey Law School to provide its alumni a rich program of lifetime learning and career support beyond their first job, drawing insights from the newly launched Future of the Profession Initiative. Carey Law will be at the forefront of training students in creative problem-solving and the increasing interconnectivity of commerce, law, and public policy.
The W. P. Carey Foundation has a long and deep history with the University of Pennsylvania with generations of Carey family members having attended the University over the past three centuries. This gift honors their legacy and, in particular, the first President of the W. P. Carey Foundation, Francis J. Carey (1926-2014), C’45, L’49, for the 70th anniversary of his law school graduation, and his brother Wm. Polk Carey, W’53, founder of the W. P. Carey Foundation and W. P. Carey Inc.
The extraordinarily generous philanthropy of the Carey Foundation will benefit generations of law students, the profession, and the rule of law. We are grateful for and inspired by the Carey Foundation’s leadership and commitment to the University.
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School traces its history to 1790 when James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, framer of the Constitution, and member of the first U.S. Supreme Court, delivered the University of Pennsylvania’s first lectures in law to President George Washington and members of his Cabinet. That launched one of our nation’s greatest law schools. Today we launch a new chapter in its storied history. Under the exceptional leadership of Dean Ted Ruger and with the transformative power of the Carey Foundation gift, the future for our law school has never been brighter. We hope you will join with us in offering thanks to the Carey Foundation for their generosity as we celebrate tremendous new possibilities for legal education at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.