Speeches

Dickinson School of Law Groundbreaking Ceremony

On this brisk January morning I hope that what you will remember is not the weather or the wind, but that we are marking the further evolution of one of America's premier law schools--a school that will become a model within the national legal community. A law school that promises not only to graduate many of our nation's best legal minds, but also a school that will contribute significantly to the legal field through research, practice, and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas.

I would like to thank Dean McConnaughay for his outstanding leadership of the Dickinson School of Law. Under his guidance this project moved forward with determination and creativity.

Few institutional changes in higher education have been as transformative or as rapid as those that are under way at Penn State's Dickinson School of Law.

This fall, the School of Law began enrolling students in Carlisle and University Park under our new dual-campus program. In fact, the 235 students in our inaugural class earned a spot that was coveted by more than 3,300 other applicants. We have recruited some of the most talented and distinguished faculty in the world. Over the next three years, we will invest more than $110 million in new facilities and programs for the law school. This is the largest investment in an American law school ever--and it is an investment that I believe will produce enormous dividends for Penn State.

For our students, not only will they receive an excellent education, but the possibilities for interdisciplinary study of law are tremendous.

The signature building planned for this site will have courtrooms, a substantial law library, classrooms, conferencing facilities, and will be a place of vast knowledge, diversity, talent, and vitality. It will provide an extraordinary educational experience befitting Pennsylvania's oldest law school.

This investment would not have been possible without the substantial support from the Commonwealth, and we are especially grateful to Governor Ed Rendell, who committed $25 million in matching funds for our building program. We also are immensely thankful for the generosity of several donors--two in particular who I would like to mention.

First, I'd like to thank alumnus H. Laddie Montague Jr., a 1963 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law, for his generous contribution of $4 million.  

Mr. Montague, a principal in the law firm of Berger and Montague in Philadelphia, has been deeply involved with the Law School for many years, serving as chairman of its Board of Governors. His extraordinary philanthropy and unwavering support on behalf of Penn State Dickinson School of Law have allowed the concept of a dual-campus to move forward. In honor of his remarkable generosity and with the approval of the Board of Trustees, we will name the unified law library at University Park and Carlisle the "H. Laddie Montague Jr. Law Library."

The second alumnus I would like to recognize is Lewis Katz, a 1966 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law, who was named an Alumni Fellow in 1999 and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Penn State in 2004.

Mr. Katz, former owner and managing partner of the New Jersey Nets basketball franchise and founder of the law firm Katz, Ettin, Levine, and Weber, also serves on the Board of Counselors for The Dickinson School of Law. He has made a phenomenal gift of $15 million to our law school, one of the largest single acts of philanthropy in Penn State history.

With the formal approval of the Board of Trustees, the new law school building at University Park will be named the "Lewis Katz Building" and the new addition at Carlisle will bear the name "Lewis Katz Hall" in honor of his unparalleled voluntary efforts and dedicated service.

Mr. Katz and Mr. Montague--thank you both again for your outstanding commitment to Penn State and to legal education. These gifts, along with matching funds from the Commonwealth, allow us to provide an environment of excellence accompanied by limitless opportunities.