“The remarkable generosity of Fordham Law’s alumni and friends is matched only by their unstinting loyalty,” said William Michael Treanor, dean of Fordham Law. “Even during these challenging economic times, our community has come together to make a bold investment in the future of Fordham Law.”

Funds raised in the campaign—one of the largest in the history of American legal education—will support five key priorities: a new law school building, scholarships, faculty chairs, centers and institutes, and the Annual Fund.

The campaign, which sparked a 500 percent increase in fundraising since its inception, officially ends in 2013.

“We have achieved the campaign goal just a year and a half since we publicly launched the effort in November 2008.” said Karen Deasy, director of major gifts at Fordham Law. “Over the next three years, the groundwork our donors have laid will allow the law school to achieve even more for the benefit of our students and educational programs.”

Fundraising will now be focused on three important goals:

1. New law school building: To date, Fordham Law has raised $32 million of the $75 million needed.Learn more about naming opportunities in the new building.

2. Scholarships: In a difficult economy, scholarships make it possible for gifted students to attend the law school, regardless of their financial position. There are many ways to support scholarships, from making unrestricted annual fund gifts of any amount to establishing an endowed scholarship with a gift of $100,000 or more. Learn more about funding a scholarship.

3. Dean’s and Bridge Fellows: To help Fordham Law students transition from graduation to employment, the school offers two programs to help them gain legal experience. Our Dean’s Fellows work in our centers and institutes and Bridge Fellows assist public interest/nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and judges. Donors can “adopt” a Dean’s Fellow for six months for $13,000 or a Bridge Fellow for three months for $3,000. To learn more, e-mail Karen Deasy or call her at (212) 636-7438.

The campaign was co-chaired by T.J. Maloney ’79 and Thomas A. Moore ’72. Each contributed more than $7 million to the campaign, including $5 million each toward the new law school building.

The campaign also benefited from the leadership of Denis F. Cronin ’72, chair of the Fordham Law Dean’s Planning Council, and four presidents of the Fordham Law Alumni Association: James S. Brown ’72, Mark H. Tuohey III ’73, John H. Wolff ’76, and John R. Costantino ’70.

To date, 22 gifts of more than $1 million were made during the course of the campaign.

Gifts of $5 million+

• Paul R. Brenner ’67 (deceased)
• James Leitner ’82
• T.J. Maloney ’79 and his wife, Nancy
• Thomas A. Moore ’72 and his wife, Judith Livingston

Gifts of $1 million+
• Anonymous (2)
• Sally J. Bellet ’76
• Douglas A. Cooper ’72
• Jerome Cooper ’53
• Denis Cronin ’72 and his wife, Linda
• George G. D’Amato ’52 (deceased)
• The Gorman Foundation in memory of Owen T. Gorman ’29
• William M. Hartnett ’79 and his wife, Catherine
• Peggy Hill ’64
• Thomas J. Kavaler ’72 and Honorable Loretta A. Preska ’73
• George H. Meehan ’31 (deceased)
• Francis J. Mulderig ’52 (deceased)
• Prof. Pamela A. Samuelson and Prof. Robert J. Glushko
• Paul P. Tanico ’80
• Mark A. Walsh ’84
• Stanley D. Waxberg ’35 (deceased)
• Weil Gotshal

As of May 15, 221 gifts exceeded $100,000. The campaign also has inspired 3,605 first-time donations from alumni, friends and students.

Constitutionally considered a U.S. territory since 1898, the tropical island of four million U.S. citizens remains under the sovereignty of the federal government. It receives some of the benefits endowed upon the 50 sovereign states and is subject to most federal laws.

However, Puerto Rico has no voting representative in congress and its citizens are not allowed to vote in federal elections (although they can vote in presidential primaries).

Constitutional law expert Christina Duffy Burnett, associate professor at Columbia Law School, outlined the options available to Puerto Rico: independence, statehood, or “enhanced commonwealth,” a status somewhere in between the two.

Enhanced Commonwealth (EC) status, she said, would allow Puerto Rico to strengthen its union with the U.S. while still maintaining a sense of self-determination. Proposals for an EC include:

• guaranteed U.S. citizenship and guaranteed federal funding on programs for education, health care, veterans and other areas;
• separate membership in the U.N. for Puerto Rico;
• power to enter into treaties with other nations;
• the right to nullify certain, but not all, U.S. laws within its own territory.

Duffy said that the people of Puerto Rico have voted for commonwealth status on at least two occasions, but that the congress has “basically ignored them.” At the same time, Duffy said, politicians’ “calls for Puerto Rican self-determination sound nice,” but such positions amount to posturing because no action is taken to make it real.

What must first be done, Duffy said, is to decide whether a constitutional basis existed for creating an EC.

Pataki, however, said no such constitutional basis existed; therefore presenting the people of Puerto Rico with such an “invalid option” was misleading.

“The odds of a U.S. Congress ever passing a law—and a president signing a law—that allows a part of this country to form treaties, or to join the U.N., is about zero,” said Pataki, who owns a home in Vieques, Puerto Rico, and was instrumental in stopping U.S. military weapons testing on the island.

“The true choice is whether you are going to be a territory dependent on those people in Washington who you are not able to vote for, or are you going to become a state?”

Statehood, Pataki said, would enable Puerto Rico to close ranks on the other 50 states in its standard of living. Currently, the average household income on the island is one-third of that of the average U.S. income, Pataki said. Furthermore, the poorest state in the union, Mississippi, receives 83 percent reimbursement for its Medicaid expenses. Puerto Rico is 50 percent poorer than Mississippi, and, as a territory, receives only 17 percent reimbursement.

Two remaining panelists, Fordham Law School Dean William Michael Treanor and Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth D. McClintock (D-PR), discussed the swirl of legal issues that surround maintaining Puerto Rico as a territory. When the founding fathers created the territory clause of the Constitution, the panelists said, they likely assumed a territory would be on the path to statehood.

“We can argue about what temporary means,” said McClintock, “but clearly 110 years is not temporary.”

The forum was sponsored by the Center for Puerto Rico Equality & Advancement and Fordham Law School.

“Donald was warm, kind and generous of spirit. In quiet and always discreet ways, he performed countless acts of kindness for all of us,” said Dean William Michael Treanor. “He was a giant in the classroom, who packed in students eager for the experience of studying with him. Named Teacher of the Year in 2003, he was truly the teacher of the year every year.”

Magnetti graduated from Fordham College in 1963 and earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Johns Hopkins University in 1969. A Catholic priest, he held a degree from the Woodstock Theological Center. Magnetti returned to Fordham to earn his law degree in 1979. After two years of practice at the law firm of Coudert Brothers, he joined hte Law School faculty in 1981. In addition to being a brilliant teacher of torts, Magnetti was a legendary authority on trusts and estates, and an expert in Islamic law as well.

He is survived by his sister, Sister Joan Magnetti, R.S.C.J. The funeral mass will be held at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Conn., on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m.

NEW YORK (August 18, 2006) — Dean William Michael Treanor rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange this morning to commemorate the centennial year of Fordham University School of Law. The opening of the exchange was televised on Bloomberg On the Market and CNBC’s Squawk on the Street. Dean Treanor was joined at the podium by Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University, and distinguished law school alumni, faculty and staff.

The Law School, founded in 1905, has a 100-year history of leadership in legal education and public service. Located in New York City, the Law School’s faculty are ranked among the nation’s top 20 in six programs that span the breadth of legal education, and its student body ranks 15th nationally in academic qualifications.

The NYSE opening highlights a centennial year of achievement and scholarship at the Law School:

– Six new faculty chairs were established in advocacy; business law; international human rights; real estate, land use and property law; legal ethics, morality and religion; and urban legal issues.

– The Feerick Center for Social Justice and Dispute Resolution opened in July. The program is headed by John D. Feerick, J.D., Sidney C. Norris Chair of Law in Public Service and former dean of the Law School, and will bring under one roof a spectrum of legal and social justice work, ranging from policy formation and dispute resolution to direct legal services to the poor.

– The Forum on Law, Culture, and Society was established to unite influential artists and leading public figures in conversation with the general public, exploring law and justice, and how they are integrated into the broader culture.

– The School held a landmark symposium on the jurisprudence of United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and examined “A New Constitutional Order?”

– The Law School held centennial conferences that addressed complexities of race and law, and legal ethics and jurisprudence.

– Law School students, faculty and alumni exceeded their goal of contributing 100,000 hours of community service.

Fordham University School of Law has more than 14,000 alumni practicing in all 50 states and throughout the world. Over the past 100 years, Fordham Law School has secured a place as a national leader in corporate law, international law, alternate dispute resolution, legal history, human rights law, clinical education and legal ethics.