NYU Law School’s Root-Tilden Program Receives $5 Million Endowment From Alumnus, Jerome H. Kern

New York City – Dean John Sexton of New York University School of Law, today announced a precedent-setting gift of $5 million from prominent attorney Jerome H. Kern. Kern’s gift will support an endowment for scholarships to NYU School of Law students pursuing careers dedicated to public service.

"It is with great pride I announce Mr. Kern’s generous contributions to our endowment, which will now be renamed the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program," said Dean Sexton. For nearly 50 years, the Root-Tilden Scholarship Program has been instrumental in giving stellar students at NYU School of Law the opportunity and training necessary for outstanding careers in public service. Mr. Kern’s gift to the program, which doubles the existing endowment, is one of the first contributions in a $20-million campaign for the Program. We know this will inspire other Root-Tilden alumni across the country to follow Jerry’s extraordinary leadership to ensure the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program’s second fifty years are as impressive as its first."

Jerome H. Kern, an alumnus of the Root-Tilden Scholarship Program at NYU School of Law, was recently named Vice Chairman of Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI), and was formerly, a senior partner of the law firm Baker & Botts. "It was important that I return something to the program that contributed to my own success," said Kern. "I am proud to make this public and substantial statement of my confidence in the program. It is instrumental in providing exemplary students with the necessary foundation for a lifelong advocacy of public service."

The highly competitive Root-Tilden Program, established in 1951, has been a remarkable success from its inception as one of the nations’ preeminent scholarships. In the past two decades, increasing tuition coast, along with other factors, threatened the ability of the program to train future generations of talented students in public service careers. NYU School of Law has been forced to sharply curtail its scholarship availability due to financial constraints-the number of scholarships offered has been reduced from twenty annually to just ten per year. The scholarship itself has been downsized from a full-tuition award to a two-thirds tuition stipend.

The campaign aims to raise $20 million to support Kern’s goal to return the Program to its original purpose; to award full-tuition scholarships to twenty scholars. Dean Sexton explained," Jerry’s gift will be instrumental in assuring that the goal of the program, shared by all associated with it, will be met for many decades to come."

07/30/98