Feature Story: $5 Million Eck Law Fellowship Challenge

On Friday, Sept. 5, Frank Eck, Jr., announced that his late father, Frank Eck, Sr.—through his estate—designated $5 million for law fellowships for students. The benefaction challenges Law School alumni, parents and friends to contribute $5 million as well. Until December 31, 2009, the Eck Estate will match, dollar-for-dollar up to a total of $5 million, all new gifts and pledges designated for endowed law fellowships.

“Of those who aspire to attend law school, many of the world’s best and brightest aim for admission to Notre Dame Law School. It is a shame that some of those prospects couldn’t attend Notre Dame because they could not afford it,” says Eck, Jr. “This contribution will offset that problem.”

In 2005, Frank Eck, Sr. gave $21 million to finance construction of the Eck Hall of Law, a world-class facility that will nearly double the size of the existing law school. The Eck Hall of Law is scheduled to open its doors for classes in January 2009.

“When Mr. Eck died last December, I stated that his many benefactions to Notre Dame, including Eck Hall of Law, would stand as a concrete testament to his legacy, but that no building could ever capture the breadth of his spirit, the depth of his commitment, or the transforming effect of his generosity,” says Law School Dean Patricia O’Hara. “In speaking these words, I never anticipated that in addition to the magnificent structure currently taking shape that will bear his name, Mr. Eck would find a way to help us fill the building with outstanding students seeking our distinctive legal education for generations to come. In death as in life, Mr. Eck continues to smile on us, while at the same time challenging us to be a premier law school grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition. He was truly a giant. We will work hard to make our efforts match his generosity and double the impact of his estate gift for our students.”

Eck, Sr. graduated from Notre Dame in 1944 with a chemical engineering degree, and earned his MBA at Harvard. He worked for more than 20 years in the petrochemical industry before joining Advanced Drainage Systems in Columbus, Ohio, in 1973 as vice president for sales and marketing. He soon was appointed president of the firm and took it from a small regional manufacturer serving the agriculture market to the world’s largest producer of plastic drainage pipe used primarily in the civil engineering industry.

“The sad thing is that he won’t be here to see the end result of his gifts to the Law School,” says Eck, Jr. of his dad, who died December 13, 2007, at the age of 84. “He has given money for so many other buildings and programs at Notre Dame, but he took particular pride in his gifts to the Law School because of the tremendous potential they have to really make a difference in the educational experience of students.”

For more information about the fellowship match challenge, contact Glenn Rosswurm, 574-631-7609, Glenn.J.Rosswurm.3@nd.edu , or Jill Donnelly, 574-631-7609, Jill.E.Donnelly.18@nd.edu.