Why You Give: Answering a Call

“When Dean Goluboff said that raising money for scholarships was a priority for the Law School, I wanted to do what I could to help with that effort,” said Louise Sams.

A supporter since graduating in 1985, Sams answered the Dean’s call by funding the Louise S. Sams ’85 Bicentennial Scholarship. “I believe the legal profession will benefit from greater diversity — broadly defined — and increasing the available scholarships at the Law School is one way that we can all contribute to that broader mission.”

The scholarship was established with a gift of $333,000 from Sams which was matched by the University’s Bicentennial Scholars Fund, bringing it up to $500,000. The University’s Matching Program was created to help build scholarship endowments as part of the Honor the Future Campaign.

Sams retired from Turner Broadcasting (now part of WarnerMedia) in late 2019, after 26 years in the executive ranks, most recently as executive vice president and general counsel. In this capacity, she oversaw the company’s legal matters worldwide, which included licensing, production, and clearance of content for all of Turner’s networks and media services; protection of the company’s intellectual property; litigation; employment matters; information security; and enterprise-wide risk management.

Sams’ ties to the Law School remain strong. “I am grateful to UVA Law for preparing me for a fulfilling legal career and providing me with life-long friendships and good memories of softball games, the Blue Parrot Lounge (which predates the current buildings), and The Virginian,” she said. “I want others to have the great experience at UVA Law that I had and to have the flexibility to pursue the legal career that they want to pursue as opposed to one that they must for financial reasons.”