The gift of money will help the School of Law to bolster its programs, in particular in faculty support, as well as helping to increase the School’s endowment. Also, the University of Maryland has committed to raising $15 million to support the School of Law.
W. P. Carey Foundation founder William Polk Carey was quoted as saying in a PR Newswire press release that: “This gift represents the Carey family’s educational and philanthropic legacy in the great state of Maryland and helps us honor family members who dedicated their lives and careers to education, to civic duty and many to the legal profession itself. It is our hope that with this gift, the University of Maryland School of Law will continue its tradition of graduating students who make a special contribution to the business world—like my grandfather and his brother did.”
The School of Law will be named the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law after W. P. Carey’s grandfather who is a graduate of the law school from the class of 1880, and co-founder of what is now the biggest law firm in the world: DLA Piper, formerly Carey, Piper and Hall.
University of Maryland School of Law Dean Phoebe A. Haddon was quoted as saying: “This extraordinary gift will support the school’s dedication to providing a world class education. Our program has a rising national reputation for excellence and it is our hope that this gift will engage and strengthen the School of Law and the University System of Maryland overall as we continue to graduate the best and brightest students.”
The W. P. Carey Foundation is a private U.S. foundation, incorporated in 1988 by William Polk Carey. The foundation’s mission is to support educational institutions with the bigger goal of improving America’s competitiveness in the world, and its main focus is to support schools, universities, and other programs with an affiliation with the Carey family.