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Tuesday, April 7
The Indiana Daily Student

campus student life

IU Maurer School of Law students receive 'life-changing' gift from anonymous donors

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Third-year students in the IU Maurer School of Law gathered in the DeLaney Moot Court Room on March 31 for what many assumed would be a routine event. 

The event was promoted via flyers and on social media as a special surprise students would not want to miss.  

“Initially, our eyes started rolling because we thought that she was going to ask us to eventually donate,” Jack Phillips, president of the IU Student Bar Association and a graduating third-year law student, said. 

Instead, IU Maurer School of Law Dean Christiana Ochoa delivered some news: an anonymous group of donors had given nearly $1.6 million to the law school, and each student would receive $10,000. 

Ochoa told students the $1.6 million sum would be distributed equally among the graduating students in IU’s Juris Doctor program. 

The program, which has 154 students in its senior class, provides a three-year postgraduate professional doctorate that is required to practice law in the U.S.

“The room just went nuts,” Phillips said. “People were screaming and crying and clapping and hugging. It was total bedlam.” 

Ochoa said the donors were motivated by a strong belief in the law school and its students. Gerry Regep, another student in the class of 2026, described the atmosphere after the announcement as one of collective relief and gratitude. 

“You could feel a collective sigh, a collective breath of fresh air, and just pure excitement and gratitude from the class,” he said. “For a lot of people, this was a life-changing gift.” 

Ochoa said the scale and structure of the donation was highly unusual.  

“The law school has never had a gift from which our students benefit to this magnitude directly,” she said. “It is new and truly a unique gift.” 

She said the funds are designed to provide flexible support for graduates as they enter the legal profession.  

Typically, in order to obtain a JD degree, the flat tuition at IU is $36,950 for in-state students, and $58,000 for out-of-state students. According to IU, the 2025-2026 total estimated budget for JD students, including books, supplies and other fees, would be $64,294 for in-state and $85,344 for out-of-state.  

“For every one of our students, it means that they are $10,000 better off than they were before today,” Ochoa said.  

According to a report from The Education Data Institute, the average law school graduate is estimated to owe about $130,000 in student loan debt. Additionally, 71% of law school students graduate in debt, with more than $119,000 being the average amount students borrow just to attend law school. 

Phillips said that kind of flexibility is especially important given the financial realities facing new law graduates. He pointed to the period between graduation and the bar exam, typically 8-10 weeks, when many students do not yet have steady income.  

“You’re kind of scraping everything together just to make it,” he said. “For something like this to come at such a perfect time… it makes all of our lives so much easier, and immediately.” 

Ochoa said the gift could allow students to pay back loans sooner or have the financial freedom to do low-cost or pro bono work. 

"We know that this is a great benefit to them and probably also going to be a great benefit to the communities they serve,” Ochoa said. 

Multiple Maurer students echoed that idea. Phillips said debt can push graduates toward higher-paying positions over more personally meaningful work.  

“If you have a ton of debt, then the big law salary is awfully tempting,” he said. “You might decide to do that because it’s practical, rather than something you’re passionate about.” 

Both students and administrators also framed the moment as a reflection of the law school’s broader sense of community. Phillips said the experience brought the class together in a meaningful way.  

“I hope that everybody in this class felt profoundly lucky that we were all here together at the same time,” he said. “And the $10,000 is just a really big, sweet cherry on top of an already fulfilling, worthwhile experience.” 

Ochoa also said that the gift carries a broader message about the legal profession.  

“A huge part of the legal profession is about helping others,” Ochoa said. “I would hope that our students have felt that impact in ways that will cause them to give in the future.” 

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