Looks like the Uni of Alabama law school is going to turn down a pledged $26.5 million from Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr who said, “I would like for a boycott to spread not just to Alabama but to all of the states that are denying abortion through threats. This is BS,” says Culverhouse, who thinks politicians who are Crimson Tide alumni influenced the issue”
The ABA Journal reports
In September, attorney and philanthropist Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. pledged $26.5 million to the law school at the University of Alabama, directing that the largest donation in the school’s history mostly be used for scholarships.
But by May, of the total funds, only $2,000 has been used, he says, and it looks like he’ll be getting a refund on the rest, following his call for a boycott of the state after it passed a new law that effectively outlaws abortions.
“I would like for a boycott to spread not just to Alabama but to all of the states that are denying abortion through threats. This is BS,” says Culverhouse, who thinks politicians who are Crimson Tide alumni influenced the issue.
Terri Collins, a Republican member of the state’s House of Representatives who sponsored the bill, graduated from the university; while Roy Moore, the state’s former chief justice, as well as former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, graduated from the law school.
Another law school graduate is Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird. The law school and the ABA Journal established in 2011 the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, an annual award, to mark the 50th anniversary of her Pulitzer Prize-winning book.
A university statement released May 29 denies Culverhouse’s assertion. He asked for $10 million back, according to the statement, and made numerous demands about operations at the institution now known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law.
“None of the issues between the law school and Mr. Culverhouse had anything to do with the passage of legislation in which the university had no role. Donors may not dictate university administration,” according to the statement.
The chancellor suggested that the law school return all of Culverhouse’s $21.5 million donation to the law school and remove his name from the school, too. The board of trustees will vote on the matter when it meets June 6 and 7, Kellee Reinhart, the University of Alabama System’s vice chancellor for communications and community relations, told the Journal.
“If I’m going to be investing that amount of money, you’d better believe I will be involved,” says Culverhouse, who asked for $10 million back after he says he discovered that none of the money had been used for scholarships.
According to him, his donation did not stipulate naming rights, and putting his name on the law school was the university’s idea.
Culverhouse’s late parents, Joy McCann Culverhouse and Hugh Culverhouse Sr., who owned the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both attended the University of Alabama and were active with Planned Parenthood since the 1950s. The younger Culverhouse, who’s also a real estate developer, is also involved with Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, which recently sued the state regarding its new law.
“The law school and the university—they don’t talk to me. I didn’t know until I read about it that the head guy is recommending to send my money back,” Culverhouse says. “I think what provoked them the most was when they asked me if I wanted to see a football game and I said no; I don’t like to see young men hurting themselves.”
Culverhouse is now a Florida resident and has a bachelor’s and law degree from the University of Florida and an MBA from New York University. He says the law school has only spent $2,000 of his donation—for travel. Culverhouse wants the money to help law students pursue jobs they love, rather than making career choices based on where they could earn the most money. He also wants to see student enrollment grow by 8% annually, until it has between 500 and 550 students.
Mark E. Brandon, the University of Alabama’s law school dean, was resistant to that idea, according to Culverhouse. U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked the law school as No. 25, and Culverhouse says Brandon thought that admitting larger classes could harm their position on the list.
“There’s this horrible problem you’ve having in education, with people paying money to get in, and a state law school is denying access to students who would have gotten in the year before, simply to be 25th on a magazine poll,” Culverhouse says.
According to him, 69% of the law school’s students have some sort of scholarship. He estimates that 20% have full-tuition scholarships, and 16% have scholarships covering tuition, room and board.
Read the full report at
