Published: March 27, 2013

Colorado Law is announcing the Campaign for Colorado Law’s Future, a $40 million fundraising effort to invest in the school’s priorities, this week with the release of its spring Amicus alumni magazine

“Recognizing the challenges our students face, and the need to develop opportunities to support their success, our Colorado Law community is coming together to support the Campaign for Colorado Law’s Future,” said Dean Phil Weiser. 

The campaign, which encourages alumni and friends to invest in the school and engage with students, is in response to the changing legal landscape and the school’s determination to excel even in challenging times.

“The legal world is changing,” Weiser said. “We have outstanding alums, wonderful friends in the community, and our ability to work with them is going to elevate what we can do.”

Funds raised from the campaign will go toward scholarships, loan repayment assistance, professorships, and core programs. Of the $40 million the campaign aims to raise, $10 million will be used to support each of these four pillars. 

Dwindling state support, combined with the challenging job market and increased student debt, has inspired the school to think more innovatively about funding. Only four percent of the school’s budget comes from state funding, which is expected to fall to zero within the next 5 to 10 years.

With the additional revenue from the campaign, the school could fund 40 additional students with $10,000 annual scholarships each year, approximately 60 loan repayment assistance awards (12 per year for five years in a row) for graduates working in the public sector, six new professorships, and new and existing core programs. Further details about the campaign are available in the spring Amicus.

Two distinguished alumni, former U.S. Senator Hank Brown (’69) and former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (’81), who serve as honorary co-chairs for the campaign. Two other distinguished alumni, Betty Arkell (’75) and Robert Hill (’70), will serve as the co-chairs for the campaign, leading a campaign committee still in formation. 

“Colorado Law is good for Colorado,” Brown and Ritter wrote in a joint letter, which is published in the spring Amicus. “History shows that as many as 80 percent of (students) will stay and pursue careers in Colorado, raising the quality of our businesses, enhancing our governmental operations, and enriching our communities.”

“The Campaign for Colorado Law’s Future is focused on assuring that the law school has the resources necessary to meet the multiple challenges of a changing environment,” Arkell and Hill explained. “The campaign will help generate the funds needed so the school continues to be a healthy and vital part of the Colorado legal community by providing a first class legal education and a resource to our state.”

Over a decade ago, Colorado Law conducted its first major fundraising campaign to raise the money necessary to construct the Wolf Law Building. Weiser describes that effort as focused on our physical capital needs; the Campaign for Colorado Law’s Future is about investing in human capital needs.

“Colorado Law is well equipped to meet our human capital needs—just as we met our physical capital challenges years ago by financing and building the Wolf Law Building,” Weiser said. 

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