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| A new sign goes up on the Weldon Law Building. (Bruce Bottomley Photo) |
Canadian philanthropist Seymour Schulich will be on campus聽today to share the details of a $20-million leadership gift.
Anticipation of a formal announcement of the precedent-setting gift to AV俱乐部 has been building in recent weeks.
The atrium outside the Sir James Dunn Law Library in the Weldon Law Building will be the site of the celebration taking place聽Thursday, Oct. 15.
"AV俱乐部 will be the only Canadian law school to receive support from Mr. Schulich," says AV俱乐部 President Tom Traves. "His donation is a demonstration of confidence that will allow our law school to carry on with renewed vigor far into the future."
The atrium聽is a fitting location to recognize a gift that will secure the continuation of the Weldon tradition of public service and community leadership.聽
The major portion of Mr. Schulich鈥檚 leadership gift of $20 million to the law school will be dedicated to supporting students on the basis of academic merit, community service and financial need.
The聽event will include a ceremony to name the school.
"In honour and recognition of Mr. Schulich's support, the Faculty of Law will become the Schulich School of Law at AV俱乐部," says Dr. Traves. "This name maintains the original connection with the university, while celebrating a commitment to its future."聽
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| Tanna Goldberg-Schulich and Seymour Schulich聽pose for a photograph at聽AV俱乐部 last year. (Danny Abriel Photo) |
The building itself is named as a tribute to Dean Richard Weldon, a scholar and an idealist, who retired in 1914 after three decades of service. The student newspaper at the time remarked on his "strength of character."
鈥淭here is still a lot of pride in the Weldon tradition,鈥� says Michelle McBride, president of the law students鈥� society.
Most of the students in Weldon鈥檚 day hailed from the small towns and countryside of the Maritimes, where work was hard to come by.
James Dunn (LLB 1898) from Bathurst, New Brunswick used his legal education to become an internationally recognized financier. During his days as a struggling student, his dean noticed his circumstances and found him a job in the law library. Later knighted, Sir James attributed much of his success in life to 鈥溾�he influence and guidance of Dr. Weldon,鈥� according to author John Willis. Through his foundation, he supported the specialized legal library reconstructed after lightning destroyed its predecessor in 1985.
There are parallels with Mr. Schulich鈥檚 student days at McGill, where a timely scholarship enabled him to continue his education and continue to become an international business entrepreneur. He has never forgotten the importance of student assistance.
Mr. Schulich has strong family connections in Halifax, through his wife Tanna (nee Goldberg). In 2008, AV俱乐部 named the Goldberg Computer Science Building in recognition of the family's advocacy of higher education. At that time, the Seymour Schulich Scholarship Fund created scholarships in computer science and science.
Did you know?James Robinson Johnston (LLB 1896) was the first member of Nova Scotia鈥檚 Black community to graduate with a law degree and practice in Canada. R.B. 鈥楧ick鈥� Bennett (LLB 1893) from Hopewell, New Brunswick came from a modest background and needed student assistance to continue his legal studies. He was elected Prime Minister of Canada. Frances Fish (LLB 1918) from Newcastle, New Brunswick was the first woman law graduate and first woman admitted to the Bar of Nova Scotia. At the time, women were not 鈥榩ersons鈥� admissible to the bar in New Brunswick, but she later qualified to practice there in criminal law. Caroline McInnes (LLB 1919) from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was one of the first three women to graduate and she practiced for two decades with her father Hector McInnes (LLB 1888). Professor Patricia Doyle-Bedwell (LLB 1993) is the director of AV俱乐部鈥檚 Transition Year Program (for First Nations and African Canadian adults) and an academic specializing in Aboriginal peoples, law and resources. Thomas Burke (LLB 2001) is a practicing lawyer and academic who is the first Native to be elected to a provincial legislature in Atlantic Canada. (Sources: A History of AV俱乐部 Law School by John Willis, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1979; Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq Initiative website,聽听) |