The University of Wisconsin Law School has created a $1 million Faculty Recruitment and Retention Fund. The fund will help UW Law expand its tenure-track faculty from 29 to 35 people over the next five years, a planned increase of over 20%. 

According to Dean Dan Tokaji, the fund is the first step in a long-term plan to enhance UW Law’s scholarly impact, while ensuring that its students learn from leading experts in their fields. 

 “Recruiting and retaining top-tier legal scholars is central to our mission,” says Tokaji. “As we teach our students to tackle complex social problems – from representing entrepreneurs to advancing racial justice – we want to make sure that they learn from the very best teachers.”

 The Faculty Recruitment and Retention Fund is one component in an ambitious fundraising strategy that will help the Law School achieve the goals set forth in its five-year strategic plan for 2021-26, adopted in May 2021. Those goals include increasing the impact of faculty research, expanding experiential learning opportunities, and doubling down on its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Since fundraising for the Recruitment and Retention Fund began in December 2020, 10 UW Law donors have each committed at least $50,000 to support it. Each alumni gift was matched dollar for dollar with Law School discretionary funds, doubling the impact. 

Hitting this fundraising goal so quickly demonstrates UW Law alumni’s strong support and enthusiasm for the Law School’s future.  

“We are thrilled that 10 alumni stepped up in just a few months to support this key initiative,” says Tokaji. “Their enthusiasm for the future of UW Law is contagious. We look forward to hiring new faculty who will educate the next generation of lawyers and leaders through their teaching, while advancing knowledge and justice through their research and service.”

Submitted by Law School News on October 8, 2021

This article appears in the categories: Faculty, Features