The Boston College Law School received a $10 million donation from Marianne Short, BC Law ’76, according to an Oct. 28 press release.
Short—a member of the BC Board of Trustees and chief legal counsel, executive vice president, and member of UnitedHealth Group—is now BC Law’s most generous donor. The money will go to fund the dean position at the law school, which will be renamed the Marianne D. Short, Esq., Law School Deanship in honor of her donation.
“It was a very personal education that stressed a human approach to law and an obligation to service that is such an essential component of the BC Law experience,” Short said in the release. “That is why I wanted to endow the deanship.”
The gift was coordinated among Short, the BC Office of University Advancement, and former BC Law Dean Vincent Rougeau, said Diane Ring, who currently serves as interim dean. Rougeau began a new role as the president of the College of the Holy Cross in July of this year.
The donation should attract a quality candidate for the permanent position of dean, BC Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley said in the press release. It could also inspire others to financially support BC Law’s financial aid, facilities, and faculty hiring initiatives, Ring said in a statement to The Heights.
“A dean’s role is to grow relationships with alumni, be available to them for discussion and advice, and to help identify strategic priorities in a broad sense,” Ring said. “For Marianne’s gift, most of this was done under Dean Rougeau, but I have been lucky enough to continue that relationship and get to know her better in my role as Interim Dean. She’s a remarkable woman, lawyer and leader. Having one of our most prominent and connected graduates make this kind of commitment to the dean’s position in a very public way is energizing and inspiring.”
Featured Image by Nicole Wei / Heights Staff
