Gifts to South Texas College of Law enable us to develop and conduct a variety of programs vital to our growth. Described below are some of the many ways your gift helps the law school continue its commitment to quality in legal education. South Texas welcomes gifts of all sizes.

Gift Funds and Recognition

• South Texas College of Law Annual Fund
              The Law Firm Challenge
              Reunion and Class Giving Program
              The LEAD Fund
• Recognition and Giving Societies
           The Spurgeon Bell Fellow Society
           The Crimson and Gold Society
• Endowments
• Faculty Chairs and Professorships
• Scholarships

South Texas College of Law Annual Fund

The Annual Fund is the primary means by which alumni give to South Texas College of Law, and alumni participation in the fund demonstrates that South Texas graduates believe in the mission of the law school. Our Annual Fund Program is dedicated to securing principally unrestricted revenue that provides a crucial bridge between tuition revenue and the cost of running the law school. Unrestricted gifts, regardless of the size, support initiatives such as:

• Bar-passage Coaching Programs
• Student Scholarships
• The Centers of Excellence
• The Fred Parks Law Library
• The Direct Representation Clinic
• The Law Review
• Classroom Technology
• Faculty Research

The Law Firm Challenge: The South Texas Law Firm Challenge was created in 2007 to bring South Texas graduates at firms together for a common purpose: maintaining excellence in legal education at South Texas College of Law. The goal of the Law Firm Challenge is to achieve 100 percent participation in giving to the law school by South Texas alumni at each law firm, corporate legal department, and law office throughout the United States that employs three or more alums.

Hays, McConn, Rice & Pickering was the first firm to meet the challenge. Managing partner and South Texas Board chair Mike Hays ’74, who initiated the program, encouraged each South Texas graduate at the firm to make a gift to the law school in any amount during the 2007–2008 academic year, so his firm could be the first to achieve 100 percent participation in giving to the college. By September 2009, nine additional firms had met the challenge.

Among the groups having an impact on law schools – including their accrediting body, the ABA, and foundations and corporations that make grants to them – alumni giving is viewed as a measure of graduates’ satisfaction with their alma maters. The Law Firm Challenge offers an excellent way for alumni at firms to provide unrestricted support to the law school.

To qualify for membership, 100 percent of the South Texas graduates at a firm contribute gifts of any amount to the law school’s Annual Fund or other gift initiative during the fiscal year, which runs from September 1 to August 31. Participating organizations are divided into the following three groups, based on the number of South Texas alumni they employ:

Group I: 3–5 alumni 
Group II: 6–9 alumni
Group III: 10 or more alumni

In honor of their accomplishment, all individuals and organizations from each of the above three groups that participate in the Law Firm Challenge will be recognized in the alumni magazine, InRe. Law firms, corporate legal departments, and law offices that achieve 100 percent alumni giving to South Texas will be recognized as well by having the names of their organizations displayed on a special section of the law school’s Partners in Excellence donor wall, and in a special section of the Annual Report to Donors.

To participate in the South Texas Law Firm Challenge, please contact Alice Morris, assistant director of Development, at 713-646-1796 or amorris@stcl.edu. Click here to track the progress of participating organizations.

Reunion and Class Giving Program: Introduced this fiscal year, the Reunion and Class Giving Program offers an opportunity for classes to reunite and celebrate with classmates at an all-class reunion in the spring. As an important component of the first annual reunion, which was held on April 9-10, 2010, classes ending with 0 – 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 – were honored and competed for the most individual contributions for their Class Reunion Gifts. Dean Guter announced that, while the Class of 1980 was currently leading, the opportunity for honoree class members to participate in their Class Reunion Gifts would continue through August 31, the end of the annual campaign. Honoree classes will rotate every year in accordance with the ending number of their graduation year, i.e. 1, 2, 3, etc. While providing a powerful impetus for increased participation in giving to South Texas, reunion giving also helps to strengthen individual and class ties with the law school. It also exemplifies pride in the past and excitement for what the future will bring!

If you are a member of a "0" honoree class and would like to contribute to your Class Reunion Gift, click here.

 

The LEAD Fund: During the 2007 spring semester, the third-year class initiated a recurring class gift program at South Texas College of Law by establishing the Legal Eagle Alumni Donation (LEAD) Fund. The LEAD Fund, which is part of the College’s Annual Fund, offers an opportunity for all classes to leave their mark on the law school before they graduate. The program, which is administered by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, is designed to promote student leadership and new alumni involvement. In September 2007, the Class of 2007 presented the law school with the inaugural LEAD Fund gift. The Classes of 2008 and 2009 followed in their footsteps, and now 3L giving has tripled. Contributions to the Class of 2010 Gift Campaign may be made through August 31, 2010.

 

Thank you for considering a gift to the South Texas College of Law Annual Fund and enhancing your connection with the law school. In addition to the direct ways your gift influences the lives of those in the law school community, your participation in the Annual Fund is an important indication to prospective students and their families that South Texas alumni stand behind the law school and the exemplary education it provides.

 

The 2009-2010 Annual Fund year begins September 1 and ends August 31. To make a gift now, click here, or to learn how you can join us in our mission, please contact Alice Morris, assistant director of Development, at 713-646-1796.

 

Recognition and Giving Societies

 

Gifts of any amount are appreciated and make a tangible difference in the programs and reputation of South Texas College of Law. All donors to the college between September 1 and August 31 each year are recognized in the Annual Report to Donors. The Partners in Excellence Donor Wall, prominently located in the front hallway of the law school, displays for one year the names of those who contribute $250 or more by August 31. Listed below are levels of giving available for you to choose from.

 

Dean’s Counselo...............Gifts up to $249 Garland Walker Patron....................... $250-$999 Spurgeon Bell Fellows Society Fellow................................$1,000-$2,499 Senior Fellow......................$2,500-$4,999 Gold-Level Fellow................$5,000-$9,999 Platinum-Level Fellow........$10,000 and up

The Spurgeon Bell Fellows Society is the law school’s elite donor society, whose yearlong membership is established with a gift of at least $1,000. Bell Society Fellows and their guests are invited to an annual dinner, hosted by the South Texas College of Law Board of Directors, to celebrate their generosity.

The Crimson and Gold Society: We value each and every gift to the South Texas Annual Fund. We also believe that there are loyal donors whose participation merits additional recognition. To honor those dedicated supporters who have shown a commitment to giving every year, we are pleased to introduce a new consecutive-giving recognition club: the Crimson and Gold Society.

Named for our school colors, the Crimson and Gold Society honors donors who have given to the law school every year for three or more years. An annual gift, regardless of the monetary amount and the funding purpose, is an investment in our present success and crucial to shaping our future.

Membership and Recognition

Membership in the Crimson and Gold Society is conferred upon donors who have made gifts to South Texas, at any level, consecutively for three or more years, up to and including the current fiscal year, which runs from September 1 to August 31. To ensure that your span of consecutive giving continues, you must contribute at least once during this period. Gifts and multiyear pledge payments count toward each year's commitment.

Qualifying Levels

Charter                       3-5 years
Milestone                   6-19 years
Cornerstone              20 or more years of consecutive giving

Members of the Crimson and Gold Society are recognized for their loyalty in the Annual Report to Donors. Cornerstone members are also invited to a special recognition dinner with Dean Guter.

How to Join

For more information about the Crimson and Gold Society, South Texas College of Law's newest giving recognition club, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at 713-646-1796 or amorris@stcl.edu.

Click here to make a gift online, where you may also make a multiyear pledge and/or set up recurring gift payments. Checks may be sent to South Texas College of Law, Office of Development and Alumni Relations, 1303 San Jacinto Street, Houston, TX 77002. An opportunity for alumni to view their giving history will soon be available on the Online Alumni Community.

If you have not yet developed the habit of consecutive giving, start by making that first gift today! If you are already a consecutive giver and have yet to contribute this fiscal year, remember the fiscal year ends August 31st.

Endowment Funds

Endowments are permanent funds that recognize the donor or someone the donor wishes to honor in perpetuity. They provide South Texas College of Law with a continuing source of support for faculty chairs, professorships, scholarships, awards, and other programs. Endowments are established through a formal agreement process. Please contact Kim Parker, vice president for Development and Alumni Relations, at 713-646-1803 for more information.

Faculty Chairs and Professorships

Endowments supporting faculty chairs and professorships enable outstanding professors to pursue new areas of research and innovative teaching methods. These types of endowments help South Texas attract and retain the finest faculty members.

A select number of South Texas faculty members who have achieved excellence in teaching and legal scholarship are honored by the College with distinguished professorships. These professorships, as well as research professorships, are established by South Texas alumni and friends through endowment gifts.

Four distinguished professorships and three research professorships have been established to date:

• The Spurgeon E. Bell Distinguished Professorship of Law, held by R. Randall Kelso
• The Stanley J. Krist Distinguished Professorship of Texas Law, held by Elaine A. Carlson
• The W. James Kronzer, Jr., Distinguished Professorship in Advocacy, held by T. Gerald Treece
• The Charles J. Weigel II Distinguished Professorship, currently open
• The Godwin Ronquillo, PC, Research Professorship, held by Charles W. “Rocky” Rhodes
• The Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. Research Professorship, held by Val Ricks
• The Harry ’56 and Helen Hutchens Research Professorship, held by Timothy Zinnecker

The establishment of professorships by South Texas alumni and friends signifies their commitment to the College’s future academic growth.

Scholarships

Scholarships enable South Texas College of Law to attract and provide educational opportunities to a talented and diverse body of students. The College currently maintains more than 60 named scholarships and awards, many of which are endowed. When establishing a scholarship, a donor may determine any special terms and conditions and help designate the criteria for how the scholarship fund will be awarded, such as financial need and academic merit. It takes a minimum of $10,000 to establish an endowed scholarship, which could be fully funded upon inception or paid out over a designated period of time, with additional contributions made at any time thereafter. Endowed scholarship awards are made available from interest income earned; their distribution is based on a spending rate determined annually by the South Texas College of Law Board of Directors.

For a list of named scholarships and awards, click here. 

Priority Programs

Centers of Excellence
The South Texas Centers of Excellence, listed below, offer specialized programs and resources for students, faculty, and the local, national, and international legal community. Through the achievements of our longest operating center, the Advocacy Program, South Texas continually ranks among the top ten in trial advocacy in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools. All of our Centers of Excellence help the College attract top students and faculty. We invite you to talk with our Office of Development and Alumni Relations, as well as our center directors, to determine how your gift can make the most meaningful impact on these initiatives. For more information on the centers, please click on the links below.

Frank Evans Center for Conflict Resolution
Director, Kimberlee K. Kovach, 713-646-2998

Advocacy Program
Director, Professor T. Gerald Treece, 713-646-1776

Corporate Compliance Center
Director, Danna Walton, 713-646-1788

Transactional Practice Center
Director, Professor W. David East, 713-646-1879

For more information on how you can support the Centers of Excellence, please contract Alice Morris, Assistant Director of Development, at 713-646-1796 or amorris@stcl.edu.