Pepperdine Caruso Dean Follows Lead Of Penn State Dickinson Dean In Giving $125,000 To Help Law Students With Emergency Needs

Last week, I read about and blogged Penn State Dickinson Law Dean Danielle Conway's $125,000 gift to provide relief to her students in financial need due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My wife Courtney and I were so inspired and challenged by Danielle's gift that we decided to follow her lead at Pepperdine Caruso Law:

Caruso School of Law Dean Paul L. Caron Makes Gift to Provide Relief for Students in Need:

Paul L. Caron, Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, and his wife, Courtney, have made a $125,000 gift to help endow the Student Emergency Fund at Caruso Law.

“Courtney and I have been moved by the difficulties faced by so many of our students during the pandemic. We were inspired by the recent news of Danielle Conway, dean of Penn State Dickinson Law, who made a $125,000 gift to her student emergency fund,” said Dean Caron. “We are enormously grateful for the opportunity to serve in these roles at Pepperdine and believe it is only right for us to try to live out the University's commitment to Matthew 10:8, ‘Freely ye have received, freely give.’ We are especially pleased that our gift will help endow the Student Emergency Fund started by Alex Caruso (JD ’17) and Caelan Rottman (JD ’18) when they were students.”

Jim Gash (JD ’93), who expressed gratitude to the Caron family for their contribution, shared, “This generous and substantial gift from Paul and Courtney continues to demonstrate their outstanding and selfless dedication to our students.”

Launched in 2017, the Student Emergency Fund at Caruso Law has been a source of financial relief for students’ emergency expenses during the COVID-19 crisis, such as housing costs, grocery bills, and school-related purchases including laptops, desktops, and printers. With the initial purpose of engaging the law school student body in giving, the Student Emergency Fund has grown to help more than 100 students find emergency shelter, purchase food and supplies, and travel home during difficult times.

This is the second major gift the Carons have made to help students at Caruso Law in the past year. In November they were the first to make a $50,000 gift to the “50 for 50” scholarship campaign, which was created as part of the school’s 50th anniversary celebration.

To learn more or to make a gift to the Caruso School of Law, visit the Student Emergency Fund website