Support for Faculty
The campaign seeks $50 million to bolster existing faculty chairs and create new ones in order to retain and recruit a law faculty of the highest order.
The caliber of an educational enterprise rests on the quality of its faculty. Attracting and retaining a world-class faculty at Yale Law School has become a competitive and costly reality. Though the Law School has attracted numerous endowed chairs, a significant number of them were established many years ago with gifts that, despite excellent investment returns, do not provide full funding for the chair holders. In addition, roughly one-third of our faculty may retire over the upcoming decade, primarily senior members who possess some of the sharpest minds in the country. Replacing these extraordinary teachers would be a challenge under any circumstances. It will be even more difficult with so many top law schools facing the same challenge and competing for the same bright minds.
At the same time, the nature of pedagogy and research in law schools is changing, and our faculty members frequently supplement their teaching with extensive empirical research or refine their courses to look more broadly at foreign legal systems. These approaches enhance the perspective and imagination of students—but require additional funding.
For example, the Law School’s China Law Center has established a significant new channel between the United States and China. Its cooperative projects with leading Chinese experts and institutions help advance the rule of law in China by tackling such issues as judicial reform, administrative law, criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, and legal and clinical education. The Center helps students arrange summer work projects in China, where they enjoy unusually good access to materials and experts as a result of the relationships established by the Center. This next generation of U.S. legal experts will be well prepared to take on the challenges of globalization.
As Yale Law School’s peers vigorously pursue top faculty members, support for endowed chairs, visiting and clinical professorships, and faculty research will help us maintain our current excellence and augment our competitive edge for the future.
The caliber of an educational enterprise rests on the quality of its faculty. Attracting and retaining a world-class faculty at Yale Law School has become a competitive and costly reality. Though the Law School has attracted numerous endowed chairs, a significant number of them were established many years ago with gifts that, despite excellent investment returns, do not provide full funding for the chair holders. In addition, roughly one-third of our faculty may retire over the upcoming decade, primarily senior members who possess some of the sharpest minds in the country. Replacing these extraordinary teachers would be a challenge under any circumstances. It will be even more difficult with so many top law schools facing the same challenge and competing for the same bright minds.
At the same time, the nature of pedagogy and research in law schools is changing, and our faculty members frequently supplement their teaching with extensive empirical research or refine their courses to look more broadly at foreign legal systems. These approaches enhance the perspective and imagination of students—but require additional funding.
For example, the Law School’s China Law Center has established a significant new channel between the United States and China. Its cooperative projects with leading Chinese experts and institutions help advance the rule of law in China by tackling such issues as judicial reform, administrative law, criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, and legal and clinical education. The Center helps students arrange summer work projects in China, where they enjoy unusually good access to materials and experts as a result of the relationships established by the Center. This next generation of U.S. legal experts will be well prepared to take on the challenges of globalization.
As Yale Law School’s peers vigorously pursue top faculty members, support for endowed chairs, visiting and clinical professorships, and faculty research will help us maintain our current excellence and augment our competitive edge for the future.