To enrich our curriculum and expand our portfolio of research contributions, we’re increasing the size of our core faculty by 40 percent. The market for top talent is fierce, so our continued success in recruiting and retention will come at a price. The Campaign seeks $15 million for new endowed chairs to help retain our top-caliber faculty and to recruit new talent to our ranks.

Some highlights of our plan:

Faculty Expansion
We’ve already embarked on our plan to increase tenured and tenure-track faculty by 40 percent over the next several years with the arrival of five new faculty members for the 2005-06 academic year. These new additions enrich our vibrant intellectual community and are just a first step in realizing our goal.

We must continue to hire the best talent to stay competitive. Our success depends on our community's generosity in several key areas. For example: giving for endowed chairs and faculty support that will allow our state salary dollars to go much further.

Endowed Chairs and Distinguished Professorships
Historically, the state has paid faculty salaries at Boalt Hall. But after years of financial crisis, we must create new resources for attracting and retaining outstanding scholars and supporting their teaching and research. In fact, we believe endowing faculty chairs and distinguished professorships at Boalt is one of the most durable contributions our supporters can make.

Boalt's more than two dozen endowed positions honor, among others, those instrumental in founding our school (Elizabeth and John Boalt); giants in jurisprudence (Earl Warren and Roger J. Traynor), a former dean (Herma Hill Kay), an international law practitioner who fought the World War II internment of Japanese Americans (Jackson H. Ralston), a pioneer in the field of wine law (Jefferson E. Peyser), an entire class ('41) and the name of the most prestigious firm in the field of technology law (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati).

Our chairs and professorships represent an investment in strengthening Boalt's values of excellence in training, research, service and leadership. These endowments signify both past generosity—and a challenge and invitation to continue this tradition into the future.

Faculty Support
Beyond training tomorrow's leaders, our faculty members engage in research that benefits not only Boalt, but the field of law and the public in general. Ongoing support for these activities is a crucial factor in attracting and retaining legal scholars. State funding does not cover this research, so donor generosity to support it is indispensable.