UMLawyer

Private support strengthens law school

The School of Law received generous support from its alumni and friends in 2005. In fact, changes we made to the Lamar Order to boost participation and allow all alumni and friends to be recognized for their gifts resulted in a record fiscal year.

The Lamar Order supports scholarships, moot court teams, the Mississippi Law Journal, faculty research and recruitment. The order continues to build on its $2 million endowment, and the School of Law endowment grew to $16.8 million during the last fiscal year.

Highlights from 2005 include major scholarship gifts from Leonard Melvin Jr. (48), the Bradley, Arant, Rose & White law firm and the estate of Lester R. Dunham Sr. In addition, the Carolyn Staton Scholarship Endowment reached $50,000 in gifts and pledges.

The impact of private support is evident everywhere in the law school.To experience this, you have only to open a book in the library to find it is part of the David H. Nutt Collection or to read a publication by a faculty member made possible by support from the Pittman, Germany, Roberts & Welsh Endowment. Several professors are supported through lectureships funded by alumni such as Jessie Puckett and firms such as Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada and Mitchell, McNutt & Sams. Countless students are attending the law school with the help of scholarships and several faculty members are supported by lectureships that reward excellence in teaching and research. Both were established through the generosity of individuals and firms.

While these accomplishments are significant and worthy of praise, we must always look forward to ensure an excellent legal education for future generations. In the coming year, you will hear about plans for the future of the school and how you can help continue its recent success.

We hope every graduate of the law school will consider making an annual gift. All contributors to the school’s annual fund will be recognized by the Lamar Order in the spring/summer edition of UM Lawyer.

I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting many of you this past year and look forward to working with you as we continue to make The University of Mississippi School of Law one of the best public law schools in the country.

Please feel free to contact me at 662-915-6929 or ssnead@olemiss.edu.

—Stephen Snead is the assistant to the law dean for advancement.