“Lowell Baier’s extraordinary legacy gift provides tremendous support to the school,” Dean Austen Parrish said in a University press release. “His generosity will enable us to plan for a learning environment that matches the quality of our students’ academic ?experience.”
Baier graduated from the Maurer School of Law in 1964 and is a native of Jasper County, Ind.
He practiced law in Washington, D.C., and formed Baier Properties, according to the release.
He is also one of the 14 original founders of the Wild Sheep Foundation, which works to save the four native species of sheep in ? North America.
Because of his conservation efforts, he is one of the most well-known environmental advisers to elected officials, according to ?the release.
Baier’s exploratory work eventually led to similar programs being set up in Russia and Mongolia.
He also is a longtime member of America’s oldest wildlife conservation organization, the Boone and Crocket Club.
As part of the $20 million donation, the law library’s name will also be changed to the Jerome Hall Law ?Library.
Hall was a longtime law school professor who served as a mentor to Baier and many other alumni.
The donation will be distributed annually over a period of years and used to improve the building facilities, including renovation and expansion.
“I am deeply honored by the opportunity to make this gift to the law school,” Baier said in the release. “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.”
Alison Graham
