This summer, the Levin College of Law will visit 10 cities to raise $1.5 million for student scholarships.
Whitney Smith, the assistant dean for messaging and outreach of the college, said the initiative was started by UF alumnus Hugh Culverhouse, who pledged to donate $1.5 million for scholarships if UF raises the same amount by the first day of classes in August.
UF has less than 60 days left to meet the “Culverhouse Challenge.”
Smith said the challenge was started to build off UF’s drastic rise in law school rankings.
She said since last year, UF Law moved from 48 to 41 on the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of national law schools.
UF Law Dean Laura Rosenbury said this is the biggest jump of any public law school in the top 50.
She said this rise in rankings was because of improving credentials of the 2016 class.
The median LSAT score rose from 157 to 160 for the starting class of 2016, and the median GPA rose from 3.5 to 3.6, Rosenbury said.
She said the number of applicants also nearly doubled in comparison to the prior year, which allowed UF to create the most diverse and qualified starting class.
“I’m confident we’re on an upward trajectory, so we’ll break into the top 30s next year,” Rosenbury said. “It’s just a question of where in the 30s we’ll end up, and obviously recruiting another great class is key to that effort.”
Culverhouse said he is confident UF will complete the challenge.
He said he hates student debt and created the scholarship initiative to help students choose the career they want after law school.
Rosenbury said the average debt of students is $84,000.
“I think because our tuition in the past had been so low, we just didn’t have a culture of offering scholarships,” she said, “and now, even though our tuition is still lower than most law schools, it’s higher than it was, so we have to change our culture.”
The college will travel to Jacksonville, Tampa, New York City, Atlanta, Orlando, Washington D.C., West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Gainesville.
“It’s a time to socialize and celebrate, but I also want our Gator Nation to know that with the scholarship money we can ensure that we can give access to the most promising students regardless of their financial circumstances,” Rosenbury said.
