Faculty support law school 

Several faculty made significant gifts to the law school recently.   Professor Lars Gustafsson (pictured left) has privately funded the Mental Health Law & Policy Journal, the first of its kind in the nation. 

Other capital campaign naming level gifts include a gift from Marilyn Dunham Smith and Kevin H. Smith, Dean and Thomas B. Preston Professor of Law, and a gift from David S. Romantz, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.   

Farris Bobango makes$100,000 endowment gift

The gift will be used to recognize an outstanding faculty member each year and to name a study room in the school’s student center.  The Farris Bobango Faculty Scholarship Award will be presented each year during commencement.   Law School Dean Kevin Smith, in consultation with Farris Bobango, will select the faculty member to be recognized.  The recipient will receive an honorarium and recognition plaque. 

(Pictured above: Professor Barbara Kritchevsky received the award from John Bobango at Commencement in May 2011.)

Wyatt Tarrant & Combs establishes annual scholarship in honor of Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks

The law firm of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs has established an annual scholarship in honor of Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, who passed away last year at the age of 85.  Dr. Hooks led the firm's diversity practice group, was also a judge, minister, former executive director of the NAACP, and a former commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission.
The first recipient is Corey Strong (pictured left), 30, a 1999 graduate of White Station High School who earned a bachelor's degree from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and an MBA from San Diego State University. He hopes to specialize in contract law and work to promote the city's entrepreneurial community.

Strong's award will cover full tuition, books, supplies, and other fees throughout his tenure at the law school. And next summer, he will be offered a summer associate's position where he'll gain real-world legal experience working with the firm's attorneys on a variety of cases.

Ways to give during our 50th Year Celebration

Endowed Funds
If you received a scholarship as a law student, chances are it was from an endowed fund. These funds are permanent and recognize a donor or someone the donor wishes to honor in perpetuity while providing Memphis Law with a continuing source of support.  

Law Enrichment
Annual gifts allow the dean to earmark funds for the school’s highest priorities, including faculty support, student scholarships, and special projects such as regional trial competitions and alumni events.

Planned Giving
Whether as a bequest, living trust, or by designating Memphis Law as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, IRA, or other retirement plan, planned gifts can provide the donor with considerable tax savings and make a substantial impact on the law school.  

How to Give

• Online. Simply designate the law school by clicking the button for “college/other” and selecting Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.  
• Phone. Call Holly Hazlett at 901.678.2425.
• Mail your check made out to the University of Memphis Foundation to:   
      Department 238
      UofM Foundation
      PO Box 1000
      Memphis, TN 38148-0001
• Phonathon Program. Feel free to make your gift when called, but please designate the law school.