ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law Building the Future Campaign Raises over $37 million

TEMPE, Ariz., Jan. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Just over halfway through an ambitious five-year fundraising campaign, the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University has raised more than $37 million.

The Building the Future Campaign is the first comprehensive campaign in the College's history.

"When we launched the Building the Future Campaign, many in the community told us we wouldn't succeed — not in this economy and not in this city. Well, our alumni and the Phoenix community have, once again, proven the naysayers wrong," said Dean Douglas Sylvester.

In the past nine months alone, the College of Law has received the largest gifts in its history through the Building the Future Campaign. In September, prominent Phoenix attorney Leo Beus and his wife, Annette, made a $10 million gift — the largest in ASU Law's history.

"Giving to ASU has been one of the best decisions of our lives," Leo and Annette Beus said. "Knowing that our funds will help the next generation of lawyers at a great law school is certainly part of it. But it is also deeply gratifying to know how much our funds are appreciated by ASU. ASU views gifts as investments — and the returns on those investments are immediate and personal. Our advice is that people should give now … it is wonderful to experience the benefits of your gifts and ASU makes sure that you do!" 

In November, the W. P. Carey Foundation made a $3 million gift to recognize John Samuel Armstrong's legacy at the College of Law, allowing for the largest hall in the new building to be named the Armstrong Great Hall. Currently, the College of Law is housed in Armstrong Hall on the ASU Tempe campus.

"The Armstrong Great Hall is just one example of how we plan to recognize those people who helped to found and to build the College of Law," Sylvester said. "For example, we are very pleased to announce two other namings in honor of two of our founding faculty. The Rebecca and Michael Berch Student Success Center and the Alan Matheson Dean's Office are the first of what we hope will be many recognitions of those who built this law school."

In addition to those gifts, $10 million in testamentary gifts have been made through the course of the campaign, including one for $5 million.

Overall, the College has secured seven gifts of $1 million or more — having received only one gift of more than $1 million in its prior 45-year existence

"The generous support we have received from our law alumni, the Phoenix legal community and the community as a whole has been overwhelming," Sylvester said.

Although part of the campaign funds are for the construction of the $129 million Arizona Center for Law and Society, the new home of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in Downtown Phoenix, the lion's share of donations are to support student scholarships, professorships, and programming at the College. 

Construction on the new building began in July, and will be ready to house the entering Class of 2016. The building is planned to be approximately 280,000 gross square feet with two levels of underground parking. In addition to state-of-the-art classrooms and simulation facilities, the new Center will house the ASU Alumni Law Group — the world's first teaching law firm — the Arizona location for the McCain Institution, the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, and numerous other publicly oriented policy and outreach centers.

"This building has been constructed, floor by floor, with our two main audiences in mind — the public we serve and the students we educate. It will be, simply put, a facility that engages the public and educates lawyers better than any other in the country," said Thomas Williams, Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and the Institution.

The Ross-Blakley Law Library, currently located in a separate building near the law school in Tempe, will be moved to the new building. The library will occupy multiple floors and create the main circulatory structure of the center. The first floor of the building will have retail space consisting of a school bookstore and a cafe.

"This is an exciting time for the College of Law. While other law schools are struggling, we are thriving. We have increased our national impact and profile. We have enrolled the strongest entering classes in our history. We have placed our students in great jobs at rates far beyond national averages — and had the support of the community at levels beyond any similar law school," Sylvester said.

The lead architects on the project are Ennead Architects of New York City and Jones Studios of Phoenix. DPR Construction is the construction manager and Buro-Happold is the engineer.

About the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law is one of the leading public law schools in the country. Currently ranked No. 31 nationally by U.S. News & World Report, the College has moved up further and faster in national rankings than nearly any other law school. The College is the preeminent law school in metropolitan Phoenix, the nation's sixth-largest city. In addition to its renowned faculty, the College is home to several leading centers and programs recognized for excellence, including the Center for Law, Science & Innovation, the Center for Law and Global Affairs and the Indian Legal Program. Its students choose and benefit from numerous opportunities for experiential and practical-skills training as well as an array of theoretical courses. With a writing program that is ranked No. 8 nationally by U.S. News, a wide range of clinical opportunities, a breadth of externship offerings, and a pro bono program that annually contributes more than 100,000 hours of legal and law-related services to the community, the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law is pursuing a path of boundless impact, excellence, engagement and opportunity. For more information, visit law.asu.edu.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140814/136299

SOURCE Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

Related Links

http://www.law.asu.edu