Since launching our grantmaking activities in 2014, we have awarded over $21 million in support of our research priorities: access, affordability, and the value of legal education.
Awarded Grants
Grant Program
Grant Status
Elon University School of Law
This grant studies the impact and benefits of its innovative new curriculum. Major components include shortening the general course of study to two and a half years, reducing cost by nearly 25 percent and enhancing the educational experience by requiring that all students complete substantial experiential learning components.
To read more, please visit Study: Lower debt, stronger diversity & improved outcomes at Elon Law
University of Pennsylvania
The Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education received a grant to analyze the law school admissions market. A set of regression models were estimated for predicting the prices charged by law schools reporting data to the American Bar Association. Similarly, institutional characteristics such as LSAT scores, bar passage rates and employment outcomes were mapped.
American Bar Foundation
The American Bar Foundation received a grant award to follow up on the work of the American Bar Association Task Force on the Financing of Legal Education. The data that was collected as part of the Task Force’s work, in combination with other data and materials, will be fully analyzed in order to address challenges facing legal education.
University of Georgia
A $50,000 research grant was awarded to Associate Professor of Higher Education Karen Webber, with the University of Georgia, to examine the increase in graduate student debt between 2008 and 2012.
American University
A $49,000 research grant was awarded to Seth Gershenson, assistant professor at American University, to explore whether the demographic match between law school instructors and students affects students’ academic progress and career paths.
To read more, please visit Stereotype Threat, Role Models, and Demographic Mismatch in an Elite Professional School Setting
University of Georgia
A $50,000 research grant was awarded to Manuel Gonzalez Canche, assistant professor at the University of Georgia, to estimate the effect of losing the federal loan subsidy on debt accumulation for law and professional students.
University of Florida
A $47,000 research grant was awarded to Assistant Professor Dennis Kramer, with the University of Florida, to examine the impact of need-based aid programs on the graduate and professional school enrollment of low-income students at the institutional and national levels.
To read more, please visit More Money, More Opportunities: The Impact of a No-Loan Program on the PostBaccalaureate Enrollment Decisions of Low-Income and First-Generation Students
University of Memphis
A $50,000 research grant was awarded to University of Memphis Associate Professor Yonghong Xu to examine diversity in law schools and how the educational experiences of women and racial minorities contribute to their career progress in legal professions.
To read more, please visit Equality at the Starting Line? Gender- and Race-Based Differences at the Transition from Law School to the Legal Profession
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
A $50,000 research grant was awarded to Stephen DesJardins, a professor at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, to address ways that law schools can use data systematically to admit students into their programs and then predict which students will actually enroll at the institution.
To read more, please visit Predicting Law School Enrollment: The Strategic Use of Financial Aid to Craft a Class