Scholarships, awards, and fellowships for AUWCL’s students are critical to maintaining AUWCL's academic excellence because they remove financial barriers and allow AUWCL to attract and retain the most qualified and diverse student body. Below is the list of scholarships, awards, and fellowships awarded through the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
Scholarships
Endowed Scholarships
Anonymous AUWCL Endowed Scholarship
Established by an anonymous donor, this scholarship supports a deserving student in academic good standing, financial need and a commitment to the AUWCL community.
Arbenz Family Endowed Scholarship
Established by Erick Arbenz and Karin Rosenberg-Miskovsky in 2012, this scholarship supports a student studying international human rights law or who has demonstrated outstanding work in the field of human rights.
Mary C. Arends Endowed Scholarship
Established by alumni, faculty, and staff to acknowledge the significant contribution of Mary Arends, AUWCL’s first Director of Development (1983-1991), this scholarship supports a first year female student entering law school after several years in the workplace, who is interested in public interest/public service, civil rights and/or domestic issues.
Kenneth and Patricia Auberger Endowed Scholarship
Established by bequest of Kenneth Auberger ’59 and his wife Patricia in 2006, this scholarship supports law students with financial need.
Gerald Battist IP Endowed Scholarship
Established by Gerald Battist ’66 and his wife Louise in 2005, this scholarship supports a student studying intellectual property law.
Centennial Endowed Scholarship
Established to celebrate AUWCL’s 100th anniversary, this scholarship supports a student with financial need and academic merit (top 10% of class standings).
James & Leona Cobb Endowed Scholarship
Established in 1999 by James ’80 and Sharon Effatt Howard ‘80 and members of the class of 1980, this scholarship supports a first or second year student based on scholastic achievement and financial need. Preference is given to African-American, West Indian, or Native American students.
Michael Cochran Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Established in memory of Michael Cochran by his brothers Stephen Cochran ‘72 and H. Eugene Cochran, this scholarship supports a student in the clinical program interested in civil litigation.
Grace Markel Daish Endowed Scholarship
Established by former students to honor Professor Grace Markel Daish, this scholarship supports a female student.
Wallace L. Duncan Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Established by friends, colleagues and family to honor Wallace L. Duncan ’61, this scholarship is awarded by the editorial staff of the Administrative Law Review to support a student who prepares a comment or other written article that demonstrates superior scholarship and excellence on a topic involving administrative law.
James C. Eastman Endowed Scholarship
Established by former colleagues and partners from the firm of Jackson Campbell, after James C. Eastman ’66 died in a plane crash, this scholarship supports part-time students.
Phyllis Freeman Endowed Scholarship
Established in 1997 by Milton Freeman in honor of his wife Phyllis Freeman ’41, this scholarship supports a student on the basis of need.
Raymond I. Geraldson Endowed Student Award in International and Humanitarian Law
Established in 2012, this scholarship supports a student committed to pursuing a career in international humanitarian law.
Emalee C. Godsey Endowed Scholarship
Established in 1987 to honor Emalee Godsey, a beloved AUWCL Registrar, this scholarship supports a second or third year student with financial need.
June L. Green Endowed Scholarship
Established by John C. Green in 2002 in honor of his wife June L. Green ’41, one of the first women nominated to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Claudio Grossman International Endowed Scholarship
Established in 1998 through the generosity of ILSP’s alumni and friends in honor of Dean Claudio Grossman, former ILSP director, this scholarship supports one or more international legal studies program LLM students who have made considerable contributions using international law to promote public interest.
Ray Hazen Student Bar Association Endowed Scholarship
Established in 2014 by the AUWCL Student Bar Association in recognition of Ray Hazen’s many years of service as the law school’s first dean of students, this scholarship supports 3 students who demonstrate a commitment to public service and the AUWCL community.
Inter-American Moot Court Endowed Scholarship
Established in 1995, this full-tuition scholarship supports one student annually who has participated in the Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition as a participant, coach, or judge. The Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition is a unique trilingual (English, Portuguese, and Spanish) competition established to train law students to use the inter-American human rights legal system as a legitimate forum for redressing human rights violations.
Fred R. Joseph Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Established in 1999 in memory of Fred R. Joseph BA ’65 JD ’68, this scholarship supports a student with financial need interested in civil rights, public interest or criminal law as demonstrated through service to the community, work experience or participation in one of AUWCL’s clinical programs.
Kappa Beta Pi Endowed Scholarship
Established by Kappa Beta Pi legal sorority with the leadership of Martha Saenz ‘78, Marie Z. Harris, and Clarice Hens, this scholarship is awarded to a female law student.
Judge Seymour Korn Endowed Scholarship
Established by Judge Korn, a good friend of the law school, this award is presented to a student with financial need.
Leadership Endowed Scholarship
Established in 2012, this scholarship supports one or two female students who are in good academic standing, have financial need and demonstrate leadership skills.
Belva A. Lockwood Endowed Scholarship
Established in honor of Belva Lockwood, a famous suffragist and the first woman admitted to practice before the Supreme Court. Although Belva Lockwood was not an alumna of AUWCL, she was closely associated with one of the founders, Miss Emma Gillett, who came to Washington to follow in Lockwood’s steps and to attend law school.
Arthur Mathews Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Established by the law firm of Wilmer Hale in 1998 to honor the late Arthur Mathews, a distinguished partner of the firm and a longtime member of the AUWCL adjunct faculty, this scholarship supports a student whose record of commitment demonstrates that he or she will follow Mr. Mathews’ example. Mr. Mathews fervently believed in the importance of pro bono service, and enthusiastically provided the same high quality of legal work for his pro bono clients as he did for those who paid.
Leonard and Miriam Melrod Endowed Scholarship
Established by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Melrod in recognition of the quality legal education that their son, Daniel Melrod ’85, received at AUWCL.
Elliott S. Milstein Endowed Scholarship
Established by alumni, faculty, staff and friends in recognition of Elliott Milstein’s seven years of devoted service as Dean of AUWCL, this scholarship supports a third year student with financial need who intends to represent the poor in civil or criminal cases and who has demonstrated this commitment either before or during law school.
John Sherman Myers Alumni Endowed Scholarship
Established by AUWCL graduates in 1967 to honor Dean John Sherman Myers, this scholarship is awarded to a student who, through academic and extracurricular commitments, demonstrates great promise for a career advocating on behalf of employees in the workplace.
Myers Law Scholarship
Established by the John Sherman and Alvina Reckman Myers Foundation for Legal Education, this full-tuition scholarship is awarded to a student who shows promise and demonstrates need for financial assistance to undertake or complete a full-time JD program of study.
Sandra J. Oakman Memorial Endowed Award
Established to honor Sandra Oakman, former Director of Admissions at AUWCL, this scholarship recognizes a student who demonstrates a commitment to furthering the mission and goal of the Washington College of Law Office of Admissions.
Dora Palkin Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Established in 1994 in memory of Dora Palkin ’16, the youngest woman ever admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, this scholarship supports a female student.
Marcy C. Panzer & Manny D. Pokotilow Endowed Scholarship for Evening Division Students
Established in 2002 by Marcy Panzer and Manny Pokotilow ‘64, this scholarship supports a student with financial need in the evening class division.
Nicholas Papain Family Endowed Scholarship
Established by Nicholas Papain ’78, this scholarship supports promising students with a preference given to a student with financial need who best exemplifies the commitment and dedication to learning instilled in Mr. Papain by his parents, Nestor and Bessie Papain.
Colonel Kenneth W. Patrum, Esq. Endowed Scholarship
Established in 2005, this scholarship supports promising students, preferably incoming, who demonstrate financial need and a solid academic background.
Paul P. Purta Endowed Scholarship
Established by Kent Brostom ’96 and Ilene Brostrom in 1996 in honor of Paul P. Purta, former Associate Dean of Institutional Advancement, this scholarship supports a student who has previously worked in a helping profession, such as social work, counseling or the ministry, is religiously active and has financial need.
Laura Reckman Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Established by Alvina Reckman Myers in 1965 in memory of her sister, Laura Reckman, who was a nurse, this scholarship supports a student with a health care background.
Elizabeth F. Reed and Ernest E. Salisbury Endowed Scholarship
Established by Elizabeth Scott Salisbury Denny ’35 and her husband, John Denny, to honor former AUWCL faculty member, and Mrs. Denny’s father, Ernest E. Salisbury ’33, this scholarship supports a student demonstrating scholastic achievement, involvement in the law school community, and financial need.
Paul R. Rice Endowed Scholarship in Evidence
Established in 2012, this scholarship honors the significant contributions of Professor Rice who served on the faculty of Washington College of Law from 1974 to 2012. Professor Rice was an esteemed member of the WCL community, contributing 38 years of his professional life to educating generations of students and producing scholarship recognized around the world. The scholarship is awarded to a 2L student who distinguishes him or herself in the field of evidence.
Peter S. Ridley, Jr. Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Established by family and friends to honor Peter S. Ridley, Jr. ’70, a native of Washington, D.C. and a celebrated Vietnam War veteran, this scholarship supports a student who possesses distinct leadership qualities with preference given to a first or second year African American student.
Seymour J. Rubin Endowed Scholarship in International Studies
Established in 1986 by friends and family of Professor Emeritus Seymour J. Rubin in recognition of his commitment to international legal education and his involvement in creating AUWCL’s Master of Law in International Legal Studies program, this scholarship supports a LLM student who is recognized for his or her contributions to the international law program.
Paul J. Sedgwick Endowed Scholarship
Established by the Sedgwick family in 1982 in honor of Paul J. Sedgwick ’24, an AUWCL adjunct professor (1930-1940), this scholarship supports deserving and financially needy students.
Southard Murphy Family Endowed Scholarship
Established to honor Betty Southard Murphy ’58, this scholarship supports students with distinguished service to the law school community and who demonstrate a commitment to be active alumni.
Stephen and Beatrice Dodd Toth Endowed Scholarship
Established in 1993 by the Honorable Dorothy Toth Beasley ’64 in honor of her parents, this scholarship supports student(s) who have shown promise, exhibit academic and leadership ability (top 20%) and demonstrate financial need and a commitment to public service, with preference given to female students.
Ves Vorobyev Endowed Scholarship
Established by Nina Vorobyeva and Aleksandr Livshits in 2007 in honor of their son Ves Vorobyev, this scholarship supports a student with financial need in good academic standing.
Edward J. Walker Endowed Clinical Scholarship
Established by friends and family of Edward J. Walker ’85, this scholarship supports a student enrolled in the clinical program with preference for a resident of Northern Virginia.
AUWCL Dean's Merit Endowed Scholarship
Established in 2002, this scholarship supports a deserving student based on merit.
AUWCL International Students Endowed Scholarship
Established by AUWCL, this scholarship supports students who have shown merit and demonstrate a commitment to the law school community.
AUWCL Law Review & Journal Endowed Scholarship
Established in 2002, this scholarship supports a member of the Law Review or other student-edited journal who demonstrates outstanding academic achievement.
AUWCL Endowed Scholarship Fund
Established by AUWCL, this scholarship supports students who have shown merit and demonstrate a commitment to the law school community.
John Cobourn Webb Endowed Scholarship
Established by D. Timothy Webb ‘76, son of John Cobourn Webb ’37 in 2012, this scholarship supports students who have shown promise, exhibited academic and leadership ability, and demonstrated financial need and academic qualification.
Mark K. Wilson Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Established in honor of Mark K. Wilson ’81, a former editor-in-chief of the AUWCL Law Review, this scholarship supports a member of the Senior Editorial Board of the AUWCL Law Review.
Robert J. Woldow Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Established in 1999 by colleagues, family and friends of Robert J. Woldow ’70, this scholarship honors Robert Woldow’s career as the managing director and general counsel of National Securities Clearing Corporation, and his dedication to his work, family and friends. The scholarship is awarded to a second-year WCL student with demonstrated financial need who is interested in practicing in the corporate or securities law area.
Annual Scholarships
Anonymous AUWCL Scholarship
Established by an anonymous donor, this scholarship supports a student from a middle-income family who has demonstrated financial need.
Sandra W. Barron '79 and David A. Barron '77 Scholarship
Established by Eric Bord in 2014 in honor of his parents, this scholarship supports a deserving student with preference given to a female student who demonstrates a commitment to public service and an expressed desire to pursue a public interest or public service career upon graduation.
Joan Myers Bondareff Scholarship
Established by Joan Myers Bondareff '75 in 2013, this scholarship supports a deserving student with preference given to a female student who demonstrates financial need.
Trishana E. Bowden Scholarship
Established by members of the Dean’s Advisory Council in honor of Trishana E. Bowden’s years of service to AUWCL as the Associate Dean of Development, this scholarship supports a student who is a member of the editorial staff of an AUWCL journal with preference given to a student of color.
Amanda C. Howe Memorial Scholarship
Established with the help of Rebeccah Gan ’01, Umesh Jani ’01, and Professor Jamie Raskin to honor Amanda Howe ‘01, this scholarship supports a deserving student in the Marshall-Brennan program who has demonstrated an exemplary commitment to serving underrepresented members of the community.
ILSP Alumni Fund Scholarship
Established by ILSP Alumni, this scholarship offers up to 5 full tuition scholarships to LLM students who display rigorous academic dedication to the advancement of issues in international law.
Professor Cynthia E. Jones Scholarship
Established in 2013 by Pamela Deese ’83 and her husband Michael in recognition of Professor Cynthia E. Jones’ professional commitment to improving the quality of indigent defense representation in the United States, this scholarship supports a student with a strong commitment to indigent defense representation, a solid academic record, and demonstrated financial need.
John &Tyna Karl Employee Rights Scholarship
Established by John Karl ‘79 and Tyna Coles, this scholarship supports a student who, through academic and extracurricular commitments, demonstrates great promise for a career advocating on behalf of employees in the workplace.
Jackson Lewis Employment Law Scholarship
Established by Jackson Lewis LLP in 2012, this scholarship supports a student with an interest in pursuing a career in labor law, employment law, benefits, or some other aspect of workplace law. Preference is given to students from populations that are underrepresented in the legal profession or the school.
David M. Osnos Scholarship for Distinguished Careers in Law
Established by David M. Osnos, Cafritz Interests, Miller & Long Co., Inc., and The National Basketball Association in 2013, this scholarship supports a student seeking a career in real estate and/or hospitality.
Joy Schwan-Best Memorial Scholarship
Established by Sean and Amber Barry in 1997 in memory of Joy Schwan-Best ’83, this scholarship supports a second or third year student on the basis of proven academic merit, financial need and service to the community.
Betty Southard Murphy Fellowship in International Commercial Arbitration
Established in 2011 in recognition of Betty Southard Murphy’s ‘58 illustrious career and numerous notable achievements, this scholarship supports a student who exhibits exceptional skills and a demonstrated interest in the area of international commercial arbitration.
Wilson and Amelia Young Memorial Scholarship
Established in memory of Wilson and Amelia Young, the parents of Margaret Y. Jackson and the grandparents of Jacqueline L. Jackson ‘74, this scholarship supports a student with academic achievement and financial need, with preference given to an African American female.
Awards & Prizes
Don Monroe Casto Endowed Awards
Established by Betty Southard Murphy ’58 to honor her uncle, Don Monroe Casto, the Constitutional Law Bookshelf Awards are presented to students who receive the highest grades in Constitutional Law classes.
Energy and Natural Resources Endowed Scholarship Fund
Established by Adjunct Professor James M. Day ’60, this award recognizes the student(s) with the highest grade(s) in Natural Resources law classes during the calendar year.
David B. Newman, Jr. & Kathryn Riley Newman Endowed Prize for Trial Advocacy
Established by David B. Newman, Jr. ‘83 and Kathryn Riley Newman in 1995, this prize is given to the best student(s) in the Trial Practice/Criminal course.
Morris & Claire Krauthamer Endowed Prize in Disabilities Law
Established by Harold Krauthamer ’69 in the name of his parents, this prize recognizes the student who has written the best paper in the disabilities law course at AUWCL.
Raymond I. Geraldson Endowed Student Award
Awarded annually to a student committed to pursuing a career in international humanitarian law.
Peter M. Chicchino Public Service Endowed Awards
The Peter M. Cicchino Awards for Outstanding Advocacy in the Public Interest are given annually to three persons during the Cicchino Public Service Awards Dinner: a current second or third-year WCL student, an alumnus or alumna whose work is primarily in the United States, and an alumnus or alumna whose work is primarily abroad or in international law. The Cicchino Awards recognize and honor those students and alumni whose devotion to, and creative service in, the public interest exemplify the highest ideals of the Washington College of Law.
Fellowships
The Robert D. Reif Endowed Fellowship in Legal Ethics and Professional Values
Established in 2013 through support from Epstein Becker Green, the Robert D. Reif Fellowship in Legal Ethics and Professional Values honors the memory of longtime Epstein Becker Green partner Robert D. Reif by furthering his commitment to maintaining the highest level of ethical standards and professionalism in the practice of law. The Reif Fellowship is awarded to the AUWCL student who has submitted the best essay on an important question of ethics and/or values confronting the legal profession today.
Albert H. Turkus Summer Public Interest Endowed Fellowship
Established in 2010 by 16 partners of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, the Albert H. Turkus Summer Public Interest Fellowship will assist a student who has an unpaid summer internship at a non-profit or public interest entity. American University Washington College of Law was selected above other area law schools to receive this $120,000 endowment for the fellowship due to its commitment to public interest law.
For information about establishing an endowed fund or to make a gift in support of an existing fund, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at (202) 274-4050 or annualgiving@wcl.american.edu.