UVA Law Reaches $400M Campaign Goal Early

Thanks to an $11 million boost from an anonymous donor, the University of Virginia School of Law has met its $400 million goal early in the University’s Honor the Future capital campaign.

Though the campaign is ongoing, that already marks the third-largest total in the history of any law school, at $401 million. Nearly 16,000 donors have contributed to the campaign, including 70% of alumni. The Law School Foundation, which led the fundraising effort, exceeded the goal 15 months early.

“This milestone is a testament to the deeply felt dedication of our generous alumni, who want to build on their own experiences at the Law School and pass them on to future generations,” said Dean Risa Goluboff, who helped launch the campaign and has served as dean throughout. “We are so thankful for their efforts, the work of the Law School Foundation, and our alumni volunteers in contributing to this landmark moment.”

The campaign centered on people first, with an emphasis on financial aid, faculty support and unrestricted funds.

“Campaigns are an opportunity to broaden participation and grow the endowment — and we have,” said Luis Alvarez Jr. ’88, president and CEO of the Law School Foundation. “But most of all, campaigns are when we assert our values. Our fundraising priorities are about people — students and faculty — and every dollar we have raised will go to support them. That is the heart of who we are and what makes UVA Law so special.”

Along the way, the campaign made it possible for the school to fully fund summer public interest grants with donor funds; support the Roadmap Scholars Initiative; establish more than 75 scholarship and loan forgiveness funds, more than 125 new unrestricted endowments and more than 225 endowed funds, including a dozen professorships. The campaign drove greater investment in loan forgiveness, allowing all graduates who earn less than $100,000 to be eligible for benefits.

J. Warren Gorrell Jr. ’79, who co-chaired the campaign, called the moment the result of “an incredible team effort.”

“It says so much about the Law School that we did this with 70% participation,” Gorrell said. “It’s a real tribute to Risa that we’ve been able to do this under her leadership. We met our goal 15 months early — that’s a testament to the Law School Foundation staff as well.”

Gorrell also praised the efforts of campaign co-chairs Catherine M. Keating ’87, David C. Burke ’93 and Dasha Smith ’98, as well as honorary co-chairs Bruce A. Karsh ’80 and Martha Lubin Karsh ’81, who kicked off the campaign with a gift that made them the Law School’s first $50 million donors.

“It’s a great indication of how special Virginia is that when the anonymous donor learned that we were $10 million away from reaching our goal, [the donor] said ‘I’ll take care of that,’” Gorrell said. “That sort of stand-up attitude is incredible and a great tribute to our law school, and is consistent with the approach that so many of our alumni have taken.”

Donations made to the Law School Foundation will still add to the campaign total until it officially ends on June 30, 2025. Foundation staff emphasized that every gift counts; more than 27,000 gifts under $100 were made during the campaign, totaling more than $1 million.

Since the campaign began on July 1, 2016, the Law School’s endowment has grown more than $360 million, to $831.4 million as of June 30, 2023.