Over the years, the Indiana University Maurer School of Law has been fortunate to be supported by many individuals and organizations. The benefactors listed here, however, have made exceptional contributions to the law school community. We honor and thank them for their ongoing support
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Lowell E. Baier
Lowell E. Baier, President, Baier Properties Inc., JD 1964
A native of Jasper County, Indiana, Lowell Baier received his B.A. in economics and political science from Valparaiso University in 1961 and his law degree from Indiana University in 1964. While practicing law in Washington, D.C., in 1967, he formed Baier Properties Inc., a Bethesda, Md., based developer of warehouses, residential properties and award-winning office buildings and shopping centers.
In addition to his work as a lawyer and businessman, Baier has been a tireless advocate for natural resources and wildlife conservation. In the early 1970s, he was one of 14 founders of the Wild Sheep Foundation, which has funded over $1 million annually to re-establish the habitat of the four species of wild sheep in North America. He has established similar programs in Russia and Mongolia. Since 1975, Baier has been active in the Boone & Crockett Club, America’s oldest wildlife conservation organization. He took the lead in drafting President George H.W. Bush’s wildlife conservation agenda in 1979 and has led in the formation of Ph.D. programs in natural resources and wildlife conservation management at five universities. From 2004 to 2007, he led a national campaign to raise $6.5 million to purchase for the federal government the last and largest remaining piece of private land (24,550 acres) that was initially Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch. In 2008, he was named Conservationist of the Year by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. In 2010, Outdoor Life magazine selected Baier as the Conservationist of the Year, and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies similarly recognized him in 2013. Additionally, he is a recipient of the law school’s 2007 Distinguished Service Award, and was inducted into the school's Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2014.
On March 25, 2015, the Indiana University Maurer School of Law announced a $20 million estate gift from Lowell E. Baier. In recognition of his gift, the law school building will be renamed Baier Hall, and the law library will be renamed the Jerome Hall Law Library in honor of a longtime law school professor who was a mentor to Baier and many other alumni. The gift, which will be distributed annually over a period of years, will be used to enhance the law school’s facilities, including its long-term renovation and expansion. “Lowell Baier’s extraordinary legacy gift provides tremendous support to the school,” said Austen L. Parrish, dean and James H. Rudy Professor of Law. “His generosity will enable us to plan for a learning environment that matches the quality of our students’ academic experience.”
Of his gift, Baier noted, “I am deeply honored by the opportunity to make this gift to the law school. In particular, I am pleased that the library will be renamed in honor of Professor Hall, whose teaching and mentoring were so crucial to my success as a student, and whose wisdom has continued to guide me throughout my career. This gift will ensure the continuing integrity of the law school building and the law library, its very soul, inspiring the best in academic and scholastic achievement -- remember, a sense of place creates a sense of purpose.”
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Michael S. Maurer
Michael S. Maurer, Chairman, IBJ Media Corp., JD 1967.
An Indianapolis native, Maurer graduated from North Central High School and received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from University of Colorado. He returned home for law school, earning a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University, where he was a writer and an editor of the Law Journal. He is admitted to both the New York and the Indiana Bars, and has also successfully completed the CPA examination. Maurer serves as Chairman of the Board of IBJ Corporation. IBJ owns and publishes The Indianapolis Business Journal, Court and Commercial Record, and The Indiana Lawyer. Additionally he serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The National Bank of Indianapolis. In 2005 he was named President of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and in 2006 he was appointed Indiana Secretary of Commerce by Governor Mitch Daniel. Maurer is a published contributor to the New York Times crossword puzzle and has authored three books: Water Colors (2003), 19 Stars of Indiana – Exceptional Hoosier Women (2009), and 19 Stars of Indiana – Exceptional Hoosier Men (2010). Maurer and his wife, Janie, have three children and eight grandchildren.
Maurer has been a devoted supporter of Indiana University and the School of Law-Bloomington. His service, loyalty and leadership earned him a place in the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 1996. He received the IU Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2001, and, in 2007, he received the IU Foundation President's Medal for his outstanding and sustained support of the IU Foundation and the university. Maurer chaired the law school's first and highly successful capital campaign during the 1990s.
On December 4th, 2008, Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie announced that the IU Law School in Bloomington would be renamed the Michael Maurer School of Law in recognition of Maurer's longtime support for the school and his $35 million gift for law student scholarships. Maurer related the significance of his donation to his relationship with the School of Law. "This gift is special for me because it is an opportunity to say thank you to an institution that made possible the success I have enjoyed in my legal and business career, the IU School of Law in Bloomington," he said. "Janie and I make this contribution to the law school with confidence in Lauren Robel, who has served our school so well. We fully expect under Dean Robel's guidance that this school will be recognized as an elite institution and assuredly one of the finest public law schools in the nation." Maurer's gift is the largest ever to the law school from an individual donor and the largest single gift received during the school's ongoing fundraising campaign.
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Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family -- J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli -- through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company.
On December 12, 2007, the Lilly Endowment awarded the law school a $25 million grant enabling the school to attract and retain exceptional teachers and scholars and to establish the School as one of the very best public universities in the country. “[The gift] will help us position our School of Law at the forefront of legal education by enabling the School to vigorously compete for the very best faculty and students from around the globe,” said IU President Michael McRobbie. Said Sara B. Cobb, the Endowment’s vice president for education: “We are enthused about Dean [Lauren] Robel’s vision for the Law School to achieve even higher levels of excellence and solidify its reputation among the finest law schools in the country.”
"The school already attracts professors with passion, who have identified important problems and want to solve them, while engaging and inspiring students," Robel said. "With this gift, we will be able to hire and retain world-class teachers and legal scholars who will be leaders in their respective fields. This is," she added, "an extraordinary and transformative gift for us, one that will assure that our students receive a legal education that is unrivaled in the country, and that will enable our graduates to continue to serve the state, the nation and the world in the highest and best traditions of the legal profession."