Penn Law renamed ‘Carey Law School’ following record $125 million donation

The University is renaming Penn Law School the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School after a $125 million donation by the W. P. Carey Foundation — the largest donation to any law school. 

The renaming was approved by the Board of Trustees on Friday, the Board of Trustees Chair David Cohen and Penn President Amy Gutmann wrote in an email sent to all students.

Cohen and Gutmann wrote that the gift will increase financial support for law students, particularly for historically underrepresented students. The gift will also expand upon the current pro bono program at Penn Law and will support the recruitment of law scholars to the school.

"Carey Law will be at the forefront of training students in creative problem-solving and the increasing interconnectivity of commerce, law, and public policy," the email read.

Generations of the Carey family have attended Penn over the past 300 years, according to the email.

The gift honors the first president of the W. P. Carey Foundation, Francis J. Carey, who graduated from Penn Law 70 years ago in 1949. He also graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1945. The gift was also made in honor of 1953 Wharton graduate William Polk Carey, who is the founder of the W. P. Carey Foundation and W. P. Carey Inc. Penn Law's Carey JD/MBA program is named after Francis J. and William Polk. 

Penn Law is not the first school named after the Carey family. In 2011, University of Maryland's law school was renamed Francis King Carey School of Law after a $30 million donation from the W. P. Carey Foundation. In 2003, Arizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business received a $50 million naming donation from William Polk Carey. At the time, the gift was the largest in ASU's history.