EUGENE, Ore. -- (Aug. 1, 2013) – Twice as many law students will now receive fellowships from the University of Oregon’s acclaimed Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center thanks to a $1 million gift from the family of Oregon track legend Bill Bowerman.
The gift, made by the Bowerman family through the Oregon Community Foundation, will also help Oregon communities served by the UO’s law school, known as Oregon Law.
“The University of Oregon’s law school is an undisputed leader in the rapidly changing field of environmental law, and we are grateful for the Bowerman family’s recognition and generous support of this critically important area of scholarship,” said UO President Michael Gottfredson. “Their extraordinary generosity benefits not only our students, but our state and society. Thank you to the Bowerman family, Oregon Law Dean Michael Moffitt, and the law school faculty and staff, whose work strengthens the UO’s position as a premier public research university.”
Speaking for his family, UO architecture graduate Tom Bowerman ’69 said the center attracts “brilliant students and we hope to tap their talent, energy and enthusiasm for important policy research that provides a real value to our world.”
The UO School of Law’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Legal Research and Writing, and Appropriate Dispute Resolution programs rank among the nation’s best, according to U.S. News & World Report. The National Jurist lists the UO among top-ranked public interest law schools in two categories: prosecutors, and public defenders and public interest lawyers.
The UO law school emphasizes service-learning opportunities for its students, providing avenues for them to contribute solutions to important issues, such as environmental challenges.
“This gift will transform the Oregon Law’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center by providing more opportunities for faculty and students to partner on critical projects, in ways that enhance the impact of faculty research and improve students’ educational experiences,” Oregon Law Dean Michael Moffitt said. “This gift makes possible our innovative approach to legal education, and I am deeply grateful to the Bowerman family for their continued support of the ENR Center.”
For details about the Bowerman gift, visit http://law.uoregon.edu/2013/08/01/bowerman-gift-enr/ .
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
About Oregon Law
For more than 125 years, the University of Oregon School of Law has served the state, the nation and the world through a constantly renewed commitment to excellence in scholarship, classroom teaching and public service. Oregon Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school and the only public law school in the state of Oregon.
MEDIA CONTACT: Erick Hoffman, director of communications at Oregon Law, 541-346-1665, erickh@uoregon.edu
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