$5 Million Angelos Gift for New Law Building
June 25, 2008
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
The University of Baltimore announced today the largest private donation ever received by the institution. The $5 million donation from UB School of Law alumnus Peter Angelos, LL.B. '61, a dollar-for-dollar matching pledge, will be used to support construction of a $107 million law building at Charles Street and Mt. Royal Avenue. The facility will provide much-needed additional space for the UB School of Law, the sixth-largest public law school in the country. The projected opening is August 2012.
The Angelos gift follows the Maryland State Legislature's approval of Gov. Martin O'Malley's request for FY09 design and planning funds for the 190,000-square-foot facility. The donation stipulates a one-to-one match from other gifts; to date, UB has secured $1.25 million in matching funds towards the Angelos pledge.
UB President Robert L. Bogomolny praised Angelos's commitment to the University and to the city of Baltimore.
"We are truly appreciative of Peter Angelos's generosity and support. His decision to give back to the institution where he received his professional training is in the best tradition of philanthropy," Bogomolny said. "This will benefit both the University and the city by supporting the construction of a landmark building in one of the most prominent locations in Baltimore."
In a related announcement, the Abell Foundation will fund a $150,000 design competition for the new facility, a move that Bogomolny said will bring national and international interest to the project.
"We are grateful for the support of the Abell Foundation to assure that a project that is so central to the University and to the city will attract world-class architects and designers," Bogomolny said.
The project's timeline is as follows:
- Selection of architect – June 2008 to January 2009
- Design phase; selection of contractor – February 2009 to May 2010
- Construction – June 2010 to July 2012
- Opening – August 2012
The UB School of Law has a rich legacy of producing legal practitioners, judges, public defenders, prosecutors and community and civic advocates. Alumni account for 30 percent of Maryland's circuit court judges, 34 percent of Maryland's district court judges and more than one-third of Maryland's elected state's attorneys. The current UB law facility opened in 1982. Since that time, student enrollment has increased by more than 20 percent. Faculty and support staff have more than doubled, reflecting the changing needs of legal education.
School of Law Dean Phil Closius underscored the impact the Angelos gift and the new facility will have on the School.
"The University of Baltimore School of Law has the potential to become something unique in American legal education, and Mr. Angelos's gift will contribute greatly in helping us realize that potential," Closius said. "The demands and requirements of innovative legal education are changing, and future generations of UB law students, scholars, and legal practitioners will all benefit from a state-of-the-art, modern learning environment."
School of Law alumna and UB Foundation Board member Sayra Wells Meyerhoff, J.D. '78, M.S. '04, highlighted the reach that the new facility will have beyond the school itself.
"It's clear that the Angelos gift will have a great impact on the law school, and the matching pledge will energize our many alumni in the region," Meyerhoff said. "But the new facility will have an equally important impact on the city of Baltimore by adding a signature building in the heart of midtown."
The existing law building, the John and Frances Angelos Law Center, was named after Angelos's parents as part of an earlier gift in 1991. The new building will retain that name upon opening in 2012, and the current facility will be renovated at that time to accommodate UB's growing academic programs.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.