School Notes: Yale Law School
May/June 2022

Tuition-free scholarships for eligible students

In February, the Law School announced the creation of the Soledad ’92 and Robert Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program, which will erase tuition for JD students with the greatest financial need. The Law School is allocating significant funding to launch the program this fall, providing approximately 45–50 full-tuition scholarships to eligible JD students. Students who meet the financial requirements will automatically receive the scholarship, starting with the Classes of 2023. Thanks to the generosity of Soledad ’92JD and Robert Hurst; David ’75, ’78JD, and Patricia Nierenberg; and Gene ’73JD and Carol Ludwig, the Law School is also able to endow the program, ensuring that future YLS students will benefit from this life-changing initiative for generations to come. An ongoing fundraising campaign is underway to further build out the program with the goal of expanding the eligibility requirements in the future to reach more students.

Dean appointed to second term

In recognition of her record of accomplishments and vision for the future, Yale University president Peter Salovey appointed Heather K. Gerken to a second term as dean on January 19. Among her many contributions, Gerken has built upon the institution’s rigorous intellectual environment by providing support for faculty scholarship and expanding academic and experiential learning opportunities for students. She also launched a transformative leadership program that creates a curriculum for the next century; increased the diversity of the student body and faculty; and stewarded robust philanthropic support that has enabled the school to thrive and provide additional need-based financial aid. She will focus her second term on expanding access to the Law School by increasing scholarships for students with the highest need, hiring new faculty, and supporting the intellectual community that has always been at the heart of Yale Law School. Gerken, the Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law, became dean in 2017 and is the first woman to serve in this role. Her next five-year term will begin on July 1.