As you know, gifts to Texas Wesleyan University School of Law are vital to advancing and sustaining our mission. All gifts are tax-deductible, and a receipt will be furnished for each gift. Click on a giving opportunity listed below to find more information.
1. Annual Fund
2. Endowments
3. Faculty Chairs and Professorships
4. Named Scholarships
5. Other Designated Gift Options
Annual Fund
The Annual Fund provides crucial support for the law school’s programs and is the primary means by which our alumni and friends give to Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. These unrestricted gifts are utilized by the Dean for the benefit of the entire institution. Gifts to the Annual Fund give the law school the flexibility to allocate resources to the school's most critical needs. Gifts to the Annual Fund enhance:
• Student Scholarships
• Faculty Research
• Academic and Clinical Training Programs
• Community Outreach Initiatives
• Alumni Events
Click here for additional information from our Annual Fund Chair.
Endowments
Endowments are a permanent possession of our institution. They provide Texas Wesleyan University School of Law with a continuing source of support for faculty chairs, professorships, scholarships, awards, and other programs. In addition, the name of the donor or honored person becomes a permanent part of the law school legacy, known and remembered by future generations of law students.
A minimum donation (reviewed and updated annually by the Board of Trustees) is required to create an endowed scholarship, which could be fully funded upon inception or paid out over a designated period of time, with additional contributions made at any time thereafter. The principal itself is never spent and is thus a continuing and reliable source of funds. Endowed scholarship awards are made available from interest income earned and based on a spending rate determined annually by the law school.
You may also establish an endowment for an academic or a student program with a minimum donation of $5,000. Endowments are established through a formal agreement process by contacting Casey Dyer, Director of Alumni Relations & External Affairs. If the minimum corpus balance has been reached before November 30th, a 4.5% “draw” is calculated and the amount is funded the next June (the next fiscal year). This interest calculation is determined and approved by the Board of Trustees.
Faculty Chairs and Professorships
Endowments supporting faculty chairs and professorship enable outstanding professor to pursue new areas of research and innovative teaching methods. These types of endowments help Texas Wesleyan attract and retain the finest faculty members. A faculty endowment can be created for a minimum of $150,000.
Scholarships
Scholarships enable Texas Wesleyan University School of Law to attract and retain a talented, diverse group of students. We currently maintain a variety of named scholarships and awards, many of which are endowed. When establishing a scholarship, a donor may determine special terms and conditions. In addition, the donor can help designate the criteria for how the scholarship fund will be awarded, such as financial need and academic merit.
Scholarships available:
• Law Review Endowment to benefit students in Texas Wesleyan Law Review
• Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Scholarship to benefit students in the evening program
• Chief Justice Joe Greenhill Scholarship Endowment to benefit students dedicated to a
legal career in public service
• Richard De Los Santos Scholarship awarded annually to deserving Hispanic law students
• Jeff Kubes ’03 Memorial Scholarship
For more information on giving to a specific scholarship or creating a new scholarship opportunity for our students or to get a complete list of scholarships available, please contact Casey Dyer at 817-212-4145.
Other Designated Gift Options
Many of the law school's organizations benefit from donations, gifts and sponsorships. Individual organizations may be contacted to identify specific projects and events that need alumni and donor support. We have provided a list of some of the programs you may designate your gift to; please click the links below for more information.
• Law School Organizations
• Advocacy Programs
• Texas Wesleyan Law Review
• Law Clinic
• Fellowship Program
• Dee J. Kelly Law Library
In addition, for information about any type of gift, pledge, donation or bequest to the law school, please contact Casey Dyer, Director of Alumni Relations & External Affairs, at 817-212-4145 for more information.
Gifts to Law School Organizations
Beyond the classroom setting, Texas Wesleyan University School of Law offers students the opportunity to become involved in over 30 organizations that support students’ personal and professional interests. Students are able to participate in a broad range of organization that offer academic, political and university affiliations, gender, ethnic, and religious diversity.
Gifts to Advocacy Programs
Our nationally recognized advocacy programs give students the opportunity to develop practical skills in local, regional and national competitions. Students go through rigorous training and develop critical practice skills through mock trial, moot court and alternative dispute resolution programs.
All donations received are allocated to help teams prepare for, travel to, and compete in various competitions throughout the United States. Resources are vital to the success of these programs and have provided students incredible opportunities to test their skills and meet noted legal professionals, while making a name for Texas Wesleyan University School of Law.
In 2008, an Advocacy Program Endowment was created to establish a consistent funding for Mock Trial, Moot Court and ADR teams to enhance their advocacy skills and compete nationally and internationally. This endowment fund was established to raise funds to support competition costs such as travel expenses, establishment of advanced competitions and training courses for students to develop.
Gifts to the Texas Wesleyan Law Review
The Texas Wesleyan Law Review was established to encourage legal scholarship on issues of interest to academics, practitioners, and law students. Students are responsible for soliciting and selecting article submissions for each volume of the Law Review. Law review members also edit, write and submit articles for publication. A Law Review Endowment has been created, by the Law Review Alumni Board of Directors, and raises money to support stipends for current law review members. Read more...
This year’s Law Review is the host for the National Conference of Law Reviews. The conference will begin March 17th, over 300 guests are expected to participate in this conference. For more information, please click here.
The Law Review also hosts two symposia each year. The next symposium is scheduled for Thursday, April 15, 2009, and will focus on Energy Law.
Gifts to the Law Clinic
The Texas Wesleyan Law Clinic works collaboratively with two local community agencies - SafeHaven and Lena Pope Home. These agencies refer clients and provide important social services.
In all cases, students conduct interviews, investigate cases, build case theories, and appear in court, and file appeals as counsel under experienced attorney supervision.
Gifts to the Fellowship Program
The Texas Wesleyan Law Fellowship is a student run organization that allows students to help many local attorneys and legal programs that are dedicated to providing free or low cost legal services to people in the Dallas Fort Worth community who would otherwise be unable to afford them.
All donations help fund students’ living expenses while they work in the public interest sector during the summer months. Traditionally, these types of organizations do not pay their summer interns/clerks, so we want to encourage our law students to pursue a career in public service to advance their legal careers and help the community.
Gifts to Dee J. Kelly Law Library
In early 2005, the law school began a major renovation project. The law library was to take over the entire lower level of the law school. By the end of construction the law library had grown to over 40,000 linear feet of shelving and offered nine study rooms, a computer lab, a computer classroom, a quiet room, and an impressive reading room.
In October 2005, the library was formally named the Dee J. Kelly Law Library in honor of Dee J. Kelly, a prominent Fort Worth attorney, through generous gifts made by the Burnett Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.