Financing the 'Wish List'

In addition to promoting diversity, the long-range planning report approved in April by the Law School faculty and the Harvard Corporation calls for the school to secure increased funding for research programs and work to improve student life, and will require the most ambitious capital fund drive ever undertaken at the Law School.

The school's $150 million fundraising goal was pared down from an original "wish list" of $300 million, according to Dean for Development Scott G. Nichols.

The proposed goal--which is subject to adjustment by a feasibility committee--is 10 times more than what has been collected from any other Law School fund drive and nearly double the total amount all other law schools nationwide have raised from capital giving in their camaigns, says Dean James Vorenberg '49.

"Law schools have generally not engaged in capital campaigns," says Vorenberg. "The lack of campaigns has been a mistake. The assumption is that law schools run more economically than other schools, but that's a misconception."

Colleagues praise Vorenberg for his initiative, calling fundraising one of his greatest accomplishments at the school. "We've been long overdue to take seriously our capital needs," says Professor of Law Phillip B. Heymann. "He's put the Law School on track for meeting our needs."

Beyond the unprecedented fund drive, the longterm planning report calls for the continued support of research programs that are "a new phenomenon" at the Law School, according to Associate Dean Frank E. A. Sander, who--with Associate Dean Andrew L. Kaufman--directed the evaluation effort.

The 16 programs serve as forums for professors and students to conduct specialized research. Several of the projects, whose subjects range from negotiaton skills to international financial systems, received donations only in the form of initial "seed money."

"Foundations get things started, then say, 'Now you're on your own,'" said Sander. "It poses a problem for the school in finding money to keep the programs going."

Sander says the school will establish a research endowment fund to be used by the dean and an advisory committee to fund the neediest programs.

Another offering valued highly by both students and faculty is the Low Income Protection Plan (LIPP), a loan-forgiveness plan Vorenberg created to help graduates wishing to enter low-paying jobs.

Although an overwhelming majority of law students enter private practice upon graduation, an increasing number are pursuing careers in public service, which almost always offers lower pay than the private sector. In fact, demand is rising so fast, says Sander, that the report recommends the establishment of an endowment to relieve LIPP's strain on the school's budget.

"We will really need to beef up funding for LIPP. It's something students regard as a guarantee," Sander says.

But of interest to more students is the condition of the Law School's facilities, some of which the study found needing improvement. Harkness Commons, the campus student center, will be overhauled "to make it a better student center," says Sander.

The school will also explore ways of expanding student housing, because, says Sander, "housing in the Cambridge area is just not competitive." University housing currently accommodates one-third of the student body.

And Langdell Library--with a legal collection second only to the Library of Congress--will be updated to provide more storage and better retrieval systems to meet the high demands on it, Sander says.

"Langdell is not a sufficiently modernized library," says Sander. "It needs a substantial infusion of funds to help it keep up and get ahead of the demands on it."