As you know, John Jeffries ’73 is retiring as dean of our great law school at the end of next month. He has been dean for seven years and during his tenure the Law School has flourished -- becoming financially self-sufficient, enrolling the strongest student bodies in our history, and attracting record levels of alumni support (for the past two years, Virginia is the only law school to have more than 50% of its alumni participate in its annual giving campaign).
To recognize John's lifetime devotion to the Law School, we have been actively raising gifts and pledges for a distinguished professorship in his name.
On May 2, we publicly announced the creation of the John C. Jeffries, Jr. 73 Distinguished Professorship.
I have received hundreds of notes from friends, colleagues, former and current faculty members, and former and current students about Dean Jeffries. I will share one of them with you, although I wish I could share more.
“Let me add that I have witnessed from afar the tremendous success that Dean Jeffries has enjoyed in his quest to take the Law School to the next level (following in the footsteps of Dean Scott, another Law School great), and it would be my honor to target my contribution to the Professorship in his name. I benefitted immensely from Dean Jeffries's teaching -- and can't imagine what my first-year clerking would have been like, had I not had the good fortune of learning Federal Courts from him. I used my class outline and notes on more than one occasion, so no small coincidence that several important judicial decisions and sets of jury instructions happened to reflect Dean Jeffries' approach . . .
"A big fan of Dean Scott (and Dean Merrill before him), I was thrilled to see to see that "the Boomer" was able to pass the torch to such an extraordinary individual. Working in corporate America, I have worked hard to create bench strength, identify successors, and then do all that I can to mentor and support those identified in their development. The Law School has set the standard in this regard -- witness the fine work of Deans Merrill, Scott, and Jeffries. I continue to be amazed too by the Law School Foundation's record of achievement, even through the economic downturns. Hats off to you and your staff!"
Best regards, Jeff Blumenthal, Class of '85
Jeffrey M. Blumenthal
Assistant Vice President
The Hartford's Group Life Claim Operations
You too can join Jeff and others who have voted their confidence in the deanship of Dean Jeffries by making a gift or pledge today. Simply click here. Make sure to reference the Dean Jeffries Professorship in the “additional notes/comments” section.
