26 | NOVEMBER 19 • 2020 

When future MSU College of Law 
students receive the Elaine Fieldman 
Endowed Scholarship, the benefactor 
hopes it sets an example. 

“While Jewish people do not have a 
monopoly on giving back or engaging 
in charity, it has been my experience 
that Jews of all movements value and 
practice repairing the world,” Elaine 
Fieldman says. “I’
m a Secular Humanist 
Jew and a member of the Birmingham 
Temple. I feel so at home there 
because of the Temple’
s dedication to 
social justice and repairing the world.”

She adds: “If you value your education 
and what you got from it, you should 
give back to help others have that 
opportunity. I loved school and I loved 
being a lawyer, but I know it is much 
more challenging financially for 
students today.”

At just 23 years of age, Elaine 
graduated cum laude from Detroit 
College of Law (DCL) and began a 
clerkship for the Honorable John H. 
Gillis of the Michigan Court of Appeals, 
followed by a clerkship with Justice 
Charles L. Levin of the Michigan 
Supreme Court. Justice Levin asked 
her to stay on a second year, which 
she agreed to only if she could have 
two months off to visit Israel. 

After the trip of a lifetime working on 
a kibbutz and traveling, she was 
looking for a job. Justice Levin 
thought she would be a great fit for 
the Detroit firm Barris, Sott, Denn & 

CONNECT WITH MSU

Catch up on the latest from MSU
msutoday.msu.edu

Explore giving opportunities
givingto.msu.edu

Learn more about alumni participation 
alumni.msu.edu

This insert is published by MSU University 
Advancement, 535 Chestnut Road, Room 300, 
East Lansing, MI 48824; (517) 884-1000.

Tune in for Virtual Music
The College of Music is offering virtual 
concerts throughout the winter. For a full 
listing, visit music.msu.edu/events

Send a Message from the Farm
Want to make your loved ones laugh while 
also supporting the livestock at the MSU 
Extension Tollgate Farm and Education 
Center in Novi? Request a “Goat Shout-Out” 
from the farm’
s resident goats at 
canr.msu.edu/tollgate

Receive Spartan Inspiration 
in your Inbox
Subscribe to MSUDaily and MSUToday Weekly 
to receive timely news, groundbreaking
research, inspiring videos, Spartan profiles 
and more: msutoday.msu.edu

Driker. He was right. She joined the firm 
in 1979 and stayed until her retirement. 
While working, she earned her LL.M. 
from Wayne State University, raised a 
daughter and was committed to 
community service.

She spent her first 13 years in business 
litigation at the firm, later specializing in 
commercial real estate lending, where 
she represented banks, pension funds 
and other organizations that loan 
money for commercial real estate 
development. She also got involved 
with what she calls professional 
responsibility, serving on and eventually 
chairing both the Professional Ethics 
Committee and the Attorney Discipline 
Board. Unsurprisingly, she was tapped 
by the MSU College of Law to serve on 
its board of trustees in 2010.

She supported DCL’
s move to build the 
MSU College of Law from the beginning.

“I thought it was fantastic,” she recalls. “It 
gave us presence in the center of the 
state at a top Big Ten school with a real 
campus. I was impressed with how the 
college incorporated the foundation of 
DCL into something bigger.”

With support from alumni like Elaine 
Fieldman, the legacy of DCL is sure to 
continue to thrive at MSU. 

LEARN MORE about support for the MSU 
College of Law by contacting Senior 
Director of Development Roxanne Caine 
at cainerox@law.msu.edu or by calling 
(517) 432-6324.

Elaine Fieldman, ’
76, created a scholarship 
to support MSU College of Law students.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:

Love of school, law 
and caring for future 
generations led to 
scholarship

MSU’s 
undergraduate 
program 
in 
supply 
chain 
management 
is 
RANKED 
#1 
by 
U.
S.
 
News 
& 
Worl
d 
Report
for 
the 
10th 
consecuti
ve 
year.

After 
four 
years 
of 
consistent 
improvement, 
MSU’s 
six-year 
graduation 
rate 
has 
reached 
a 
RECORD 
HIGH 
81% 
in 
2020.