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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

$1.25 million donation will rename law school learning center

A $1.25 million donation to the law school will rename the school’s learning center.

The study space will become the Dee J. Kelly Law Learning Center after Kelly’s foundation donated to the general operation of the law school, according to a University release Monday.

The foundation is named after a late 1954 law school graduate, who went on to become an influential Texas lawyer and political mentor. Kelly died in 2015, leaving the foundation to his three children.

The learning center is a popular place for law students to study, conduct research and hold mock court hearings, according to the release.

University President Steven Knapp said in the release that the GW community is “deeply grateful” for the gift.

“Naming the Law Learning Center in Dee Kelly’s honor creates a living legacy for a great man who was also one of our most distinguished alumni,” he said.

The release did not state how the donation would be used in the law school.

Dee Kelly Jr., one of Kelly’s children, said in the release that the gift honors his father and his connection to the law school.

“This will keep his name connected to the law school for a long time, and that’s what he would have wanted,” Kelly Jr. said in the release. “My dad started with nothing, and his successful career was based on the education he received at the law school.”

The donation was one of the final gifts to be counted towards the University’s $1 billion fundraising campaign, according to the release. The campaign ended June 30 after reaching its $1 billion goal in May.

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