Law School Creates $6 Million Fund

Harvard Law School announced yesterday that a new $6 million dollar fund to support international legal education will be established from a donation made by Law School alumni John F. Cogan ’49 during last year’s record breaking capital campaign.

The fund will support a wide variety of international programs, including financial aid for international students, and student and faculty research.

The fund was set up without strict parameters as to how the money is to be spent, administrators at the Law School said, due to the changing nature of international law and the school’s global efforts.

“Jack [Cogan] wants the school to be able to support what the school thinks is most important, so he’s written the rules with some flexibility,” said Law Professor William P. Alford who is also the vice-dean for international legal studies.

But he added that it seemed likely that at least some of the fund would be initially directed towards supporting financial aid programs for foreign students due to the slowing economy and the gift’s emphasis on international programs.

Cogan, who spent his career working as an attorney in the United States and a medley of foreign nations, said he viewed international law as the future of the field.

“It stems from not just the issue of globalization but the spread of law as an international force,” Cogan said.

The law school Dean and faculty will examine the school’s programs to determine which ones might fit Cogan’s parameters and receive support from the fund, said Steve Oliveira, the associate dean for development and alumni relations.

The fund would also likely be used to strengthen the law school’s ties to foreign law schools by expanding exchange programs and funding international conferences, officials said.

According to the fall 2007 enrollment data, 281 international students were enrolled at the law school, or about 15 percent of the student body.

Financial aid officials at the Law School could not be reached for comment late yesterday.

Cogan, a prolific Boston-area philanthropist and Harvard donor, is no stranger to university donations. He has served as chair and vice-chair of two Law School capital campaigns and has endowed two professorships in his name, one currently held by University Professor Stephen Greenblatt and Law School Professor John C. Coates.

Despite the departure of Law School Dean Elena Kagan and other top faculty members for the Obama administration, Cogan said he remained confident in the school’s ability to retain its status as one of the nation’s best law schools.

“It’s a vote of confidence in the school,” Cogan said. “It’s just an extraordinary school, its standing singular in so many teaching programs and with a terrific student body.”

—Staff writer Elias J. Groll can be reached at egroll@fas.harvard.edu.