The UCLA School of Law has received a $1 million dollar gift from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation to endow a chair in civil rights and civil liberties and to advance legal scholarship in these areas. The gift agreement, signed in June, has passed UCLA's Academic Senate and is in the process of being approved by the University of California.
The Gilberts were passionate philanthropists deeply involved in furthering education, tolerance, social services, health care and the arts. In addition to the endowment of a chair in civil rights and civil liberties at the law school, the foundation has given support to endow chairs in Israel studies and interdepartmental clinical pharmacology at UCLA.
"With the support of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, UCLA School of Law is positioned to become a preeminent source in civil rights law," said Michael H. Schill, dean of the law school. "We are delighted to continue the philanthropic efforts of the Gilberts, and with an experienced and talented UCLA School of Law faculty member at the helm of this chair, we expect to see great developments that will further the Gilberts' mission of equality."
Both Arthur Gilbert and his wife, Rosalinde, were born and raised in England and immigrated to the United States in 1949. After settling in Los Angeles, they became successful real estate entrepreneurs and also committed their time to charitable work, both locally and in Israel. Shortly after Rosalinde's death in 1996, Arthur donated the couple's impressive collection of snuff and decorative boxes, decorative gold and silver, micromosaics, Judaica, and enamel miniatures to England. The collection is currently featured at London's Somerset House. In recognition of the magnitude of the Gilberts' generosity, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Arthur in 1999.
Upon Arthur's death in 2001, a substantial portion of the Gilberts' fortune was donated to the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation to continue their humanitarian and charitable endeavors. Richard Ziman and Martin Blank serve as trustees to the foundation and were instrumental in securing the endowment for the law school.
"Martin Blank and I are proud to make this significant commitment to UCLA School of Law on behalf of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation," Ziman said. "We are extremely supportive of Dean Michael Schill's programs and his quest for excellence, and we hope that other alumni and friends of the law school will join in to meet this challenge."
The UCLA School of Law, founded in 1949, is the youngest major law school in the nation and has established a tradition of innovation in its approach to teaching, research and scholarship. With approximately 100 faculty and 970 students, the school pioneered clinical teaching, is a leader in interdisciplinary research and training, and is at the forefront of efforts to link research to its effects on society and the legal profession.
