Lindsay France/University Photography

Dean Stewart Schwab announces one of the largest gifts ever made to the Law School at a June 8 Reunion event.

Cornell Law School has received one of the largest gift commitments in its history: $25 million from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. The gift will be used to expand endowment support for faculty research, student financial aid and a diverse array of national and international academic programs.

"This gift commitment is one of the most generous in the history of legal education and it will become a major philanthropic pillar upon which our school stands," said Stewart Schwab, the Allan R. Tessler Dean of the Law School, who announced the gift June 8 at a Reunion event. The gift "is a profound investment in the people who will teach and study in this building in the years to come," Schwab said.

The $25 million gift takes its place beside support from Myron Taylor, Class of 1894, and Jane M.G. Foster, L.L.B. 1918, who also made transformative gifts to the Law School.

President David Skorton noted that the gift will make an indelible impact on the Law School and contribute to the success of the current Cornell Now capital campaign. "The Law School is a vital part of the intellectual strength of Cornell University," he said. "This gift will allow the Law School to further enhance its interdisciplinary scholarship and programs that enable Cornell University to engage with the world."

This is the third recent major gift to Cornell. This spring Lisa and Richard Baker '88 gave $11 million to the Baker Program in Real Estate, and John A. Swanson '61, M.Eng. '63, committed $10 million to boost undergraduate education, including experiential learning opportunities, in the College of Engineering.