Music, law schools receive 'transformative' $69 million gift

A “transformative” $69 million gift will benefit the Jacobs School of Music and the IU School of Law for decades to come, University officials announced today. \nThe gift from the Lilly Endowment aims to help both schools secure world-class faculty and facilities – with $44 million going to the Jacobs School to build a North Studio Building and $25 million going to the law school to attract some of the nation’s top legal experts. Both gifts are the largest in the history for the respective schools. \nMcRobbie credited the Lilly Endowment not only for their latest gift, but their long history of helping the University. He said during recent decades, Lilly has given the University about $400 million. \n“One of the great strengths of American education is the remarkable role played by philanthropy,” McRobbie said. \nQuoting John F. Kennedy, McRobbie called for “a new world of law” and to establish the IU School of Law as one of the top public institution’s in the country. \nLauren Robel, dean of the IU School of Law, said the school already features many top-flight faculty, but the gift will allow the school to retain those already on staff while securing more talent from around the nation and world. Robel said the entire University will benefit by strengthening the law school.\n“A world-class research University demands a great law school,” she said. \nJacobs School of Music dean, Gwyn Richards, said as technology is changing the way music is consumed and produced, the gift is essential in preparing the University for those adjustments. With many of the faculty and students using the more than 40-year-old Music Annex, also known as “the round building,” a new state-of-art facility is needed to accommodate the changes in technology, Richards said. \nThe North Studio Building, expected to be built and ready for use near 2010, “will provide studio space with excellent acoustics and state-of-the-art wiring and technology, more and larger practice and rehearsal rooms, and advanced temperature and humidity controls, which are essential to preserving millions of dollars worth of musical instruments,” according to an IU media release.\nRichards said the endowment is important because it allows the school to maintain its status as a nationally acclaimed institution, while allowing the school to look toward the future. \n“It is a stirring moment to have the opportunity to consider what is just off the horizon,” Richards said. “What once seemed so far in the future, is now in reach thanks to the endowment.”