Dean Newton Announces New $1.5 Million Vieth Family Law Fellowship

Dean Nell Jessup Newton is pleased to announce a new $1.5 million fellowship established by Sheila and Perry Vieth of Hingham, Mass. The fellowship, to be known as the Vieth Family Law Fellowship, will support the general fellowship program at the Law School and will have its first student recipient in the fall of 2016.

“I know the entire law school joins me in thanking Perry and Sheila for this very significant and generous gift,” said Newton. “Fellowships are our highest fundraising priority, and the Vieth Family Law Fellowship will go a long way toward ensuring we continue attracting the best and brightest law students for many years to come.”

Perry Vieth and Sheila Vieth are both graduates of Marquette University where Perry Vieth obtained a degree in accounting and Sheila Vieth earned a degree in psychology. Perry then graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 1982. He is the co-founder and president of Ceres Partners, LLC. Ceres Partners was organized in 2009 and serves as an investment manager and general manager of Ceres Farms, LLC, Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity Fund, LP, Hop Head Farms, LLC and Heartland Farms, LLC. Ceres Partners manages a portfolio of properties of more than 74,000 acres with 228 farms in nine states: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Wisconsin and New York.

Perry Vieth has served on the Notre Dame Law School Advisory Council since 2002. “My law school education prepared me for my career in business and set the foundation for what I’ve been able to achieve through Ceres,” Vieth said. “Sheila and I are thankful for what Notre Dame has meant to us, as well as our children. Through this fellowship, we appreciate the opportunity to both express our gratitude and help future generations of Notre Dame Lawyers.”

The Vieths are the parents of two Notre Dame graduates – Megan Veith, ’09 B.S. in preprofessional studies, and Morgan Veith ’11 B.B.A., management consulting. Megan Veith earned a masters degree in nursing from DePaul and Morgan Veith works as a senior relationship manager for Ceres Partners. Patrick Vieth will graduate from Notre Dame in May 2016 with a degree in finance. The Vieths’ youngest child, Matthew Veith, is a high school senior.

Perry Veith formerly served as CIO of Fixed Income & Currency at PanAgora Asset Management in Boston, as well as a portfolio manager at Fleet Investment Advisors and at Fuji Securities and Chicago Research & Trading Group, where he began his trading career at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1986. From 1982 to 1986, Perry practiced law in Chicago specializing in securities and corporate law.

The Vieths sponsored the Law School’s Boston Massacre event at the November 2015 Shamrock Series in Boston. In addition to their support of Notre Dame, the Vieths serve on the Board of Directors for several charitable organizations.

“Perry and I have enjoyed so many blessings because of our relationship with Notre Dame,” Sheila Vieth said. “Notre Dame truly is a place where values give meaning to knowledge and we are thrilled to support the Law School in this way.”