Law School Alumna Sayra Meyerhoff Donates $1 Million Toward Law School Challenge Grant
March 10, 2010
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
A $1 million contribution from Sayra Meyerhoff, J.D. '78, M.S. '04, and her husband Neil Meyerhoff will help match the challenge grant initiated by UB School of Law alumnus Peter Angelos, LL.B. '61, for the construction of a new home for the University of Baltimore School of Law. Meyerhoff is a long-time supporter of the University, where she serves on the UB Foundation Board of Directors (including a two-year term as chair) and the School of Law Advisory Council. She also is a member of the Uniquely UB Capital Campaign Committee.
The Meyerhoffs' gift, among the largest received to date for UB's capital campaign, is essential to the completion of the new School of Law building. Construction of the project on a UB-owned parcel at the intersection of North Charles Street and West Mt. Royal Avenue is slated to begin this summer; the center is expected to be finished in fall 2012.
The building will, Meyerhoff believes, help UB attract students by offering them a state-of-the-art learning environment.
"It will give our students every educational advantage to become successful attorneys," she said. "It will help UB be the best law school it can be."
Robert L. Bogomolny, president of the University of Baltimore, praised the Meyerhoffs' gift.
"Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff have been wonderful supporters of the University of Baltimore and the School of Law," he said. "Their generosity in terms of time and resources represents the highest form of charitable giving in our community."
The $5 million, dollar-for-dollar matching pledge was made by Angelos to support construction of the 190,000-square-foot facility. The new John and Frances Angelos Law Center, named after Peter Angelos's parents, will be a signature building, not only for UB but for the city of Baltimore as well. The internationally acclaimed architectural firm of Behnisch Architekten of Stuttgart, Germany, in partnership with Baltimore's Ayers/Saint/Gross, Inc., will include an array of green technologies, making it one of the metropolitan area's "greenest" buildings.
Meyerhoff enrolled in the School of Law after finishing her M.A. at George Washington University. She predicts that the center will help bring new recognition to the School of Law and its reputation as a training ground for many of the state's top lawyers.
"I have always been proud of UB’s law school graduates," she said. "They are positively impacting the practice of law in such a meaningful way, and shaping the society we live in. I am pleased to be able to give back to UB."
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.