Schaefer endowment names law library, funds chair

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•October brunch—October 24, noon-2 p.m.
Join MSU Hillel for a Sunday brunch of bagels,
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•Israel Fest—October 27, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The sixth annual Israel Fest at the MSU Union
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MSU alumnus and nationally recognized lawyer John

judiciously represent

F. Schaefer is leaving a legacy that will be important to

clients in court and also,

all future Spartan lawyers. The Law Library at

at times, to help keep

Michigan State University recently was named for the

them out of court.

distinguished matrimonial lawyer, whose $6 million

gift also will fund the John F. Schaefer Chair in

Matrimonial Law at the Michigan State University

College of Law.

He is the proud father of

four adult children,

including a daughter

who is a 2008 graduate

A steadfast supporter of MSU for many years, Schaefer

of the MSU College of

created the endowment to enhance the law college's

Law and now works at

reputation nationally and to make it more competitive.

his law firm.

Schaefer knows well the importance of superb

Schaefer served as

teaching and mentoring. After earning his law degree

trustee at the law college

from the Detroit College of Law (DCL)—now the MSU

for more than 10 years,

College of Law—in 1969, he became an adjunct

including the period that led to DCL's affiliation with

professor in family law and taught for 30 years. Initially,

MSU in 1995, more than 100 years after its founding

he planned to practice business litigation, but after six

in 1891.

years of working with clients in complex divorce

matters, Schaefer had an "oho" moment. His area of

focus—matrimonial law—had found him.

President Lou Anna K. Simon joins
John F. Schaefer at a reception in
his honor.

"We've had a proud heritage," says Schaefer, noting an

array of graduates who have distinguished themselves

as lawyers and judges. "It was a difficult transition to

Today, Schaefer is recognized as one of the best in his

go from being a free-standing university in Detroit

field. Worth Magazine named him one of the top 100

and one of the oldest independent law schools in the

lawyers in America each of the last three years, and he

country to assimilating that identity with another

has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for 25 years.

institution, but the affiliation has worked out

He credits his education with enabling him to

enormously well."

Law college provides arts connections

Thanks to a major grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, MSU

College of Law is seeking to more deeply connect faculty, students,

and alumni to the arts through a new Writer in Residence Program.

Music History

—

a play written by MSU alumna Sandra Seaton, the

program's first writer in residence—will make its debut in November.

Directed by John Lepard, the play focuses on African American

students at a Midwestern university during the civil rights movement

of the 1960s.

"For students and faculty, this is a fresh way of looking at legal and

MSU's graduate
program in nuclear
physics in the College
of Natural Science ranks
first in the nation.

U.S. News & World Report's

2011 edition of America's Best

Graduate Schools

moral issues," says Seaton. "The play focuses on historic events but

also shows how much relevance these issues have today—especially

people exercising their right to vote."

The $15,000 grant marks the first time since 1978 that the Michigan

MSU alumna Sandra Seaton is the
author of a play that is to be the first
production of the College of Law's
Writer in Residence Program.

Humanities Council has awarded a major grant to a law school.

The Black Law Students Association and other student groups will help facilitate the project. A

follow-up symposium, which will be open to the MSU community, will examine the treatment of

moral and legal issues in Seaton's plays and other dramatic works.

Seaton's play will be sponsored jointly by the MSU College of Law, James Madison College, and the

MSU Department of Theatre. It runs November 11-14 at the Arena Theatre in the lower level of the

MICHIGAN STATE

UNIVERSITY

Your comments are welcome: write to Michigan State University,
302 Olds Hall, East Lansing, Ml 48824-1047 or call (517) 355-7505.

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer.

Fairchild Auditorium on the MSU campus.

The Writer in Residence Program was inspired by a series of art exhibitions that Nick Mercuro,

professor of law in residence, has helped acquire for the College of Law over the past nine years. All

pieces touch on themes involving law and justice. This year's exhibition, "Suburbia Mexicana,"

features the photography of Alejandro Cartagena.

