Former university chancellor will match up to $250K donations for law scholarships

A former Lakehead University chancellor says he’ll match up to $250,000 donated to the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law between now and April 30.

Arthur Mauro and the Mauro Family Foundation made the announcement on Thursday, promising a dollar-to-dollar pledge, the money being used to help students through a scholarship program.

Mauro, who served the school between 2009 and 2012, said law school is expensive.

“One of the greatest challenges law students face is the cost of tuition,” Mauro said in a release. “Through scholarship support, we can help students so they can concentrate on their tuition studies and really get involved with the community.”

Interim law school dean Lisa Philipps said the aim of the challenge and the scholarship program is to remove barriers to education to attract students from all walks of life to come to law school.

While Lakehead offers one of the lowest law-school tuitions in the province, at an average of $17,000 a year it’s still beyond the reach of many potential students.

“We’ve had some great supporters, but I hope this scholarship program is going to vault us forward,” Philipps said.

“We’re really excited about the matching campaign because it’s really going to allow us to ramp up student support, which means that students hopefully will come to the law school that they’ll be able to focus on their studies while they’re here.

"They won’t be worried about putting food on the table and they won’t graduate with a huge amount of debt.”

This will allow them to choose their own career path and practice in Northern Ontario, rather than seeking their fortune in larger centres.

“They might be interested in a legal-aid practice, in smaller firms, in smaller public-interest settings. Minimizing financial barriers is a big part of making sure that’s open to them,” Philipps said.

To donate, contact the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.