The University of Utah S. J. Quinney College of Law and the Wallace Stegner Center were delighted to learn that private donors affiliated with the Chicago Community Trust have established an endowment fund with initial funding of $1.3 million to generate income to support fellowships for environmental and natural resources law students at the College of Law. College of Law Dean Bob Adler noted, “We are delighted that our longstanding partnership with donors associated with the Chicago Community Trust is now expanding to provide such direct benefits to our students and future leaders in environmental and natural resources law.”
These merit-based fellowships will be awarded to students entering law school. Students who are awarded fellowships must demonstrate a commitment to studying and practicing in the field of environmental and natural resources law. In their first year of school, they will attend events and participate in programs associated with the Wallace Stegner Center and the student-run Natural Resources Law Forum. During their second and third years, students will take courses toward their Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and will work as graduate assistants for faculty associated with the Wallace Stegner Center. This will provide students with the opportunity to work closely with faculty and others on a range of exciting research, writing, and service projects.
The program is designed to accomplish several important objectives. First, it will enable the Stegner Center to recruit the most qualified and motivated students. Second, it will facilitate the ability of those students to take maximum advantage of the College of Law’s program in environmental and natural resources law and participate in various events and programs, such as the Environmental Law Clinic, environmental and energy law moot court teams, the Environmental Dispute Resolution Program, and the Research Fellows Program. Third, it will make law school more affordable and help our students to graduate with less debt, thus allowing them to pursue a wider range of employment opportunities in environmental law without having to focus so heavily on income.