Last modified: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Law School to be named in honor of alumnus and benefactor Michael S. Maurer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 23, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Hundreds of university leaders, students, and alumni are expected to be on hand Friday (Sept. 25) for the official naming of the Indiana University Michael Maurer School of Law. The ceremony will coincide with the Law School's second annual Alumni Summit and celebrate a $35 million gift from Michael and Janie Maurer the school received last December.
Friday's ceremony, at 5 p.m. at the IU Auditorium, will feature remarks from President Michael A. McRobbie; IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson; Dean Lauren Robel; Michael Maurer, a 1967 graduate of the Law School; and Judge Sarah Evans Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Two-time Grammy Award winner Sylvia McNair will perform during a reception immediately following the ceremony.
The Michael Maurer School of Law.
"It gives me great pleasure to dedicate the School of Law at Bloomington in honor of Michael Maurer," McRobbie said. "Mickey's dedication and philanthropy to the Law School and Indiana University over the last three decades are truly exceptional. His gift for student scholarships will ensure that students from all backgrounds will have the ability to afford an outstanding legal education at one of America's best public law schools for many generations to come. We are deeply grateful to Mickey and Janie Maurer for their selfless generosity and dedication to making a major difference in the lives of our students and faculty."
The Law School announced the Maurers' transformative gift -- designated solely for student scholarships -- in December 2008. The recipient of a scholarship at the beginning of his second year of law school, Maurer learned the importance of giving back. "Whatever measure of success I've been able to achieve, I owe that to this wonderful place," Maurer said. A pioneer in the fields of cable television, publishing, and finance, Maurer's successes are incredibly diverse.
Robel expressed deep gratitude to the Maurers for their longstanding support of the Law School.
"I am honored to call Mickey and Janie friends," she said. "Their faith in what our school is and can become is inspiring to all of us in the Indiana University community, and we are fortunate and grateful for their continued support of our Law School."
The Maurers' gift counts toward the $1.1 billion Matching the Promise fundraising campaign for IU Bloomington.
"A primary focus of the campaign is on student support," said Gene Tempel, president of the Indiana University Foundation. "The Maurers and the campus have shown that they are equally dedicated to increasing accessibility to higher education at IU Bloomington. The campus has committed funds to match the income on the endowment, which will effectively double the support available to students from this wonderful gift."
Friday's ceremony is open to the media. Guests will be available for interviews at 4:30 p.m. inside the Auditorium. For additional details on media availability, contact James Boyd at the Law School at 812-856-1497 or joboyd@indiana.edu.
