Why You Give: Attracting Students to Choose UVA Law

Twenty-four years ago Frederick “Rick” W. Beinecke and his wife, Candace, created an endowed scholarship to help out-of-state students with their tuition costs. Originally committing to fund the Candace K. and Frederick W. Beinecke Endowed Scholarship at the $100,000 level during an earlier capital campaign, the Beineckes have directed their annual gifts to the scholarship. With contributions and endowment growth, the scholarship is now valued at over $400,000 and more than $223,000 has been awarded since its inception.

After serving as an officer with the Marine Corps during Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star in the process, Beinecke graduated from the Law School in 1972 and remembers being asked soon thereafter to make a gift. “When Mortimer Caplin [’40], my good friend and classmate Lee’s father, asked me to make a contribution, I embraced the idea to help future students,” he said.

“In retrospect, I felt my own experience at the Law School had been very supportive as I transitioned from active duty in the Marine Corps, having just served as a platoon leader and company commander in Vietnam.

“Although very much a Virginia institution, the school was welcoming to out-of-state students, as I was myself. I decided then to do what I could to attract and support others to come to study law in Charlottesville.”

In his 48-year career since graduation, Beinecke has served as president and director of the private investment company Antaeus Enterprises. He currently serves as vice president and director of The Prospect Hill Foundation and president and director of The Sperry Fund. Throughout his career, Beinecke has served on countless boards, most recently serving as president and a trustee of the National Gallery of Art and previously as president and a director of the New York City Ballet.

The scholarship he created at the Law School has helped dozens of students. “I am so pleased now to have done that and to have seen the success of the students that our endowment has supported,” he said. Scholarships directly reduce the cost to students attending UVA Law and enable them to consider a wide range of career opportunities.

One of the first recipients of the scholarship thanked his benefactor thusly, “Thank you again for your support. It has truly helped make my legal education at Virginia possible. It will also enable me to make career choices with much less regard as to their expediency in reducing my educational debt.”

The most recent recipient of the Beinecke Scholarship, a third-year who graduated in May, thanked Beinecke with these words,

“I am sure you understand the extraordinary experience UVA Law offers and the influence it has on shaping an individual. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of it.”