It was a GOOD week for…
Raising the price tag for naming rights, after Drexel University changed its law school name to the Thomas R. Kline School of Law after it received a $50 million donation. Drexel had previously named the law school the Earle Mack School of Law, after Mack had donated $15 million in 2008.
But then several other schools received higher donations. In 2011, Hofstra University changed its name to the Maurice A. Deane School of Law with only a $20 million donation. Indiana University School of Law — Indianapolis changed its name to the Robert H. McKinney School of Law in recognition of an alumnus who donated $24 million. The University of Maryland, a public institution, added a benefactor to its name after it received a $30 million donation.
In 2013, Chapman University changed its name after a $55 million donation.
Drexel removed Earle Mack from its name in December 2013, and announced it was seeking a larger donation for the naming rights.
The latest donation, while not the largest, seems to set the bar at $50 million. That gives hope to schools like Thomas Jefferson School of Law, which is struggling to make debt payments on its building.
A $50 million donation would put the law school on solid financial footing and give it a new brand. Plus the school would not have to worry about upsetting Thomas Jefferson or his estate. And the school has only had the name for 19 years. It was known as Western State University College of Law until 1995.
It was a BAD week for …
Duquesne University School of Law, whose richest alumni just gave $50 million to cross-state rival Drexel University. Ouch. Maybe they wouldn’t change their name.
