Gift Secures Legal Training Based on Catholic Values for Deserving Students

Janice Gordon and Professor Michael Ambrosio

Over nearly five decades at Seton Hall Law, Professor Michael Ambrosio has inspired the lawyer unique to Seton Hall Law – one who integrates jurisprudence into the everyday practice of law and whose thinking is grounded in a Catholic view of justice.

To ensure that students who desire the Seton Hall Law experience are able to attend, Michael and his wife, Janice Gordon, have committed $2 million to establish an endowed scholarship fund. Their gift will help generations of students for whom a Seton Hall JD would otherwise be out of reach.

That’s of particular importance to Michael: “Seton Hall Law has been growing in importance, both in the state and as a nationally ranked law school. So, I support anything we can do in the short run – as well as the long run – to show that we’re striving for excellence in every way, and scholarship aid to open the path for deserving students is a critical part of that.”

The gift is also a way of giving back since Michael’s undergraduate and law school costs were defrayed by various forms of tuition support. “I went to Montclair State and my tuition was about $200 a semester, so that was a scholarship subsidy from the government. And then I had a scholarship at Catholic University Law School,” he says.

Michael and Janice's recent philanthropy will ensure that his ideas about Catholicism's relationship to law and morality continue to find expression at the law school even after his career draws to a close. “I embrace the notion of giving back out of gratitude; no one could have had a better position than I did as a professor of law. It’s a privilege.”

A Lasting Impact on Our Students

Make a legal career a reality for deserving students with a planned gift to Seton Hall Law. You’ll not only inspire future lawyers, you’ll join Michael and Janice as members of the Miriam T. Rooney Society. Contact Stephanie Silvestri for details at 973-642-8818 or stephanie.silvestri@shu.edu.