Sep. 14, 2013

Chapman University law school dons new name

Chapman University formally unveiled the new name of its law school — the Dale E. Fowler School of Law — in a ceremony honoring the Orange County real estate developer who is donating a record-setting $55 million to the school. The gift from Fowler and his wife Sarah Ann Fowler is believed to be the second-largest ever given to a U.S. law school. Dean Tom Campbell has said the money will be used in part to expand the school's business-related programs, and that theme was stressed during Tuesday's hour-long ceremony. Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, told the crowd that "no law school in the country better exemplifies the role of law in creating economic opportunity" than Chapman. With the Fowlers' gift, he said, "students will learn how law can be a partner with and not an obstacle to economic development." Former Secretary of State George Schultz, the event's keynote speaker, told the crowd that the "higher purpose of law schools is to think about the processes of government" in order to "create an atmosphere that allows freedom and entrepreneurship to flourish." — Don J. DeBenedictis