Penn Law School

Law School Receives Historic Gift To Support Public Interest Law

Penn Law has received a $50 million dollar donation to expand its public interest law program.

Donated by the Robert and Jane Toll Foundation, founded by Robert Toll and Jane Toll, the gift will help support the growth of the Toll Public Interest Scholars and Fellows Program by doubling the number of public interest graduates in the next decade through full and partial tuition scholarships, Penn Today reports.

The $50 million gift is the largest gift in history that supports the training and support of public interest lawyers. It is also among the ten largest gifts ever donated to a law school in the US.

“We are profoundly grateful for this spectacularly transformational gift from Bob and Jane that builds on their previous support of the Law School and will ultimately enable us to double the number of public interest graduates in the future,” Penn President Amy Gutmann says.

AN UNPRECEDENTED TIME

In a time when lawyers are desperately needed, the Toll Foundation’s gift will assist the tuition and programming for students seeking to work in the public service sector.

“The timing could not be more important, as our country acknowledges how inadequately our criminal justice system and other institutions have responded to the country’s long history of racism and inequality,” Gutmann says. “The Tolls’ visionary philanthropy firmly places Penn Carey Law in a preeminent position to support a new generation of leaders to do the substantial work required for serious reform.”

With the donation, the law school can actively work to increase the capacity of its global public interest community and provide lawyers who can tackle the country’s social justice issues head on.

“A gift of this magnitude, in this current moment, creates a significant opportunity to expand on the long-standing commitment of the Law School to educate, train and launch the advocates needed to fight the injustices of our world today,” Ted Ruger, Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law at Penn Law, says. “These scholarships will make public interest careers accessible to a broader pool of students, many of whom are from underrepresented backgrounds. The Tolls’ generosity truly supercharges the Law School’s ability to create meaningful change in the future of our communities.”

Sources: Penn Today, The Daily Pennsylvanian