UCLA School of Law has received a gift from the Shapiro Family Charitable Foundation to establish the Ann Carlson Discretionary Fund, which will be used to support the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. The $500,000 gift will be matched through the Dan and Rae Emmett Matching Gift Challenge, bringing the total to $1 million. The fund will be used for a wide variety of needs and opportunities, including graduate and undergraduate scholarships, fellowships, faculty projects and research.
“We are thrilled that Ralph and Shirley Shapiro have made this exceptional gift in support of the Emmett Institute and in recognition of Ann Carlson, Shirley Shapiro professor of environmental law and faculty co-director of the Emmett Institute,” UCLA Law Dean Jennifer L. Mnookin said. “Their generosity is vital in furthering the institute’s work of addressing critical environmental issues and training future environmental law leaders. We are deeply grateful for the ongoing leadership of Ralph and Shirley Shapiro, and Dan and Rae Emmett.”
The gifts are part of the $4.2 billion UCLA Centennial Campaign, which is scheduled to conclude in December 2019 during UCLA’s 100th anniversary year.
The Shapiros have deep and lasting ties to UCLA and a long history of providing philanthropic support to UCLA Law, where they have endowed four chairs, including the Shirley Shapiro Chair in Environmental Law. Ralph Shapiro, a UCLA alumnus and longtime member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Directors, has served as president of the UCLA School of Law Alumni Association and member of the school’s board of advisors. In recognition of his work to sustain and advance UCLA School of Law as a prominent institution of higher learning, he received the 2008 Alumni of the Year Award for Public and Community Service. In 1983, he was named Alumnus of the Year. Shirley Shapiro is a member of the Emmett Institute advisory board, the board of directors of UCLA Women and Philanthropy and the board of visitors for UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture.
The Emmett family has long been concerned about environmental issues and is actively involved in supporting environmental organizations and initiatives. Dan Emmett is the chairman of Santa Monica-based Douglas Emmett, Inc., one of the largest owners and operators of office and multi-family properties in Los Angeles and Honolulu. He and his companies have been known for their leadership in energy conservation since 1990. In 2008, a gift to UCLA Law established the Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment, which was expanded in 2014 through an additional $1 million leadership gift from the Emmett Family Foundation. Also in 2014, UCLA School of Law received a $1.5 million matching gift challenge from the foundation to greatly increase the school’s capacity to advance law and policy solutions to pressing environmental issues.
