The Daily Pennsylvanian
The Penn Law School received one of the largest donations in its history yesterday -- $10 million from 1966 graduate Robert Toll.
The money is meant to aid law students going into public-interest law by offering them financial aid in various forms.
Law School Dean Michael Fitts said that the funds will remove financial barriers for Penn Law graduates who want to work in the public sector.
"We desperately need more young lawyers to take on society's challenges," Fitts said. "But for too long the path to public service has been impeded by financial obstacles. Fortunately, Bob Toll has removed some of those barriers for years to come, and we are in his debt."
Toll, CEO of Toll Brothers Inc., a luxury home construction company, earmarked $5 million of his donation for the establishment of a Toll Public Interests Scholars Program, set to start next fall. The program is meant help fund full scholarships for law students' first year and partial scholarships for their second and third years.
The other $5 million will to go help expand the school's Public Interest Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which provides loan forgiveness for up to 10 years after graduation for law students working in the public sector.
Fitts said he expects these programs to attract students who might not otherwise attend the Law School.
"It will ... draw to Penn really top students going into the public sector," he said.
Penn Law's Public Interest Program, for which students have to perform 70 hours of law-related community service work, is the first and only such program to receive the American Bar Association's Pro Bono Publico award, said program director Susan Feathers.
Toll has already given two significant donations to Penn. In 1990, he established the Say Yes to Education Program at the Graduate School of Education, which offers scholarships to West Philadelphia high school graduates. In 1991, he created the Albert and Silvia Toll Scholarship Fund for law students.
"The Law School has given me more than any other institution," Toll said in a statement. "I thought the education and experience so fabulous that I want to give back especially so others who might not have had the chance can enjoy what I got."
Toll is also a member of the Law School's Board of Overseers and the mayor's Housing Partnership Council in Philadelphia.
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