Paul Paton, the newly appointed dean of Chapman’s Fowler School of Law, received a welcoming gift Aug. 24 that few will forget: a $15 million gift to the school from Board of Trustee Chair Parker S. Kennedy. The substantial gift marks a new chapter in the law school’s history, which has gone through constant upward growth over the last several years.

Kennedy himself has a deep connection to the law school. Not only is Orange his place of birth, but the law school itself was deeply loved by his father. Kennedy has a history of commitment to the Fowler School, where he made an earlier $1 million donation in February 2018 in order to grant students more professorships and provide a fund for student excellence.

Matthew Parlow, the current Parker S. Kennedy professor of law and a former dean himself, expressed his excitement towards the gift.

“It is an extraordinary gift that supports two key foci of Chapman: student support and academic excellence,” Parlow said.

This latest gift retains a focus on benefitting the Fowler School of Law’s student body, with $10 million going into scholarships and another $1 million helping to elevate the Parker S. Kennedy Professor of Law to the Parker S. Kennedy Endowed Chair in Law. 

The remaining $4 million of the gift and what it will be going towards will be announced at a later date.

Parlow’s elevation to Endowed Chair in Law will present more research opportunities to current and future students.

“Chairs are funded at higher levels than professorships, which is why this is elevating the named professorship to a named chair,” he said.

The majority of the money goes into scholarships in order to benefit incoming students who show a high degree of academic achievement, according to Paton.

“The Kennedy Fellows Endowment will provide distinguished scholar stipends and/or scholarships for top incoming students of the first-year class,” Paton told The Panther. “Recipients will be called Kennedy Fellows to distinguish them among the top recruited students based on the strength of their undergraduate records (in terms of GPA) and their LSAT scores.”

A consistently cited strength behind Fowler’s growth in recent years is the diversity of its student body, drawing extremely talented students from a variety of backgrounds.

“One thing that drew me to the law school is its diverse student body and faculty — students bring unique experiences to the table.” Kaelyn Timmins-Reed, a third-year law school student, said.

“Also, when I was applying, I was told Fowler School of Law is very collegial and collaborative, and I can attest to that. We challenge each other to learn and succeed, but we don’t push each other down to get ahead.”

Paton intends to create more access to an education at Fowler and to support student excellence. It is his hope that through introducing Kennedy Fellows into the law school and by furthering opportunities for current law students, Fowler will only see a further growth consistent with its history under previous deans including Parlow.

“I hope this increase in scholarships attracts even more students to Chapman, and I hope it increases opportunities for those who might not think law school is possible because of cost,” Timmins-Reed said. 

“I also think getting scholarships creates more opportunities for students to really consider the kind of law they love or that helps people, rather than students having to choose a job for financial reasons, like paying off student debt.”

Paton offered his own thoughts on the scholarships.

The Fowler Law School has seen substantial growth over the last several years. On top of records in students becoming employed following graduation, various awards for excellence among its student body and faculty and an impressive rise in national rankings over the last five years, the Fowler School of Law has a firm foundation for even greater achievement.

Kennedy’s gift is one that Parlow says will substantially help with pushing the law school to newer heights. Likewise, Parlow also emphasized the role students and faculty play in the school’s achievement.

“If everyone involved in the Fowler School of Law continues their important work, an even brighter future is ahead for this law school,” Parlow said.

Going forward, Paton aims to collaborate with staff and students across Chapman’s various departments in order to introduce more opportunities for students still studying at Chapman and graduates who wish to pursue a career in law.

More importantly than the law school itself, this gift is focused on the students of the Fowler School of Law, providing them a bright future, one that Paton hopes to assist in.

“It's also especially important to me personally to prepare law graduates to serve their communities, their country and indeed the world at a time when the rule of law has never been more important,” Paton said.