$2 Million Donated to Assist Professors who Champion Equality in Law

Alexander Professorship to Launch Next YearNanki BhullarTHE SANTA CLARADecember 6, 2014[dropcap]L[/dropcap]aw professors who exhibit qualities of fairness and justice in law will be eligible for a new honor on campus.Katharine Alexander, wife of late law professor George Alexander, gave the Santa Clara School of Law a $2 million donation this fall to create the Katharine and George Alexander Professorship of Law.The professorship will be granted to one law faculty member at a time and will completely support that professor’s salary. The professorship will rotate every several years.According to Lisa Kloppenberg, dean of the School of Law, at the beginning of next school year, Kloppenburg will recommend instructors for the professorship. They will then be appointed by Santa Clara president Michael Engh, S.J.“Katharine and George Alexander were devoted to helping train lawyers (and looked) out for the least powerful in our society,” said Kloppenberg. “We will look to choose faculty members to receive the Alexander Professorship who embody those values, and we are fortunate that many of our faculty members at (Santa Clara) do live those values.”The donation was made on behalf of the late George Alexander, who was a law professor at Santa Clara from 1970 to 2003, served as the dean of Santa Clara Law and received the first endowed chair in the history of the school, the Sutro Professorship.His wife, Katharine, worked as a lawyer in the Santa Clara County Public Defender Office for over 25 years, and was committed to increasing fairness within the legal system.In 2004, the Alexanders created the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center within Santa Clara’s law school. The center educates and trains law students while representing low-income individuals pro bono.They were also involved in developing the Northern California Innocence Project, Santa Clara Law’s Center for Social Justice and Public Service and Santa Clara Law’s Center for Global Law and Policy.“George was a true visionary,” said law professor Cynthia Mertens. “He foresaw the importance of diversity both within the faculty and staff and within the student body. The new professorship is a fitting tribute to Dean Alexander and his wife Katharine.” Contact Nanki Bhullar at nbhullar@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.