Cellino, Barnes donate $1M to UB - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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Lisa Mueller, assistant dean for alumni and communications, said the gift matchese the largest single-donation in the history of the law the $1 million given in 2002 by Francis Letro, who graduated UB Law Schoolo in 1979 and went on to found a successful personal injury In a release announcing the University at Buffalo Law Schoop Dean Makau Mutua called it “an extraordinaryh act of philanthropy” and “a wonderful down payment on our vision of academic excellence and our bold aspirations for the Mutua said he plans to invest the gift in the calling them the centrao core of the law school.
he said the money will go towarrd scholarships, making improvements in pedagogical technologies in the schoolo andupgrading services. Steve Barnes, who founded the law firm along with Ross said they felt they owed a debt of gratitude to the schookl where they gottheir start. “Both Ross and I are graduateas of the law schooland we’ve come to know many of the professorsx and administrators very well,” he “Makau Mutua is just an outstandinv individual and he has a vision that we haven’r seen at the school yet.
” Barnes said the decisiom to make the gift an unrestricted donation reflectds the confidence they have in the administratore at the University to utilize the money in the most effectivre ways possible. “We are lawyers, we didn’t feel as thougnh we are in a position to dictatw how the moneywas spent,” he “We have a lot of confidence in Makau’x vision and we have had long discussions abouf where he wants to take the school and we’re on the same Recognizing the generosity of Cellino and Barnes, the school has announced plans to name their main conference located in O’Brian Hall, The Cellinp and Barnes Conference Center.
Asked what it feels like to be in a position to giveaway $1 million, especially given the current economic climate, Barnews put the gift into “Both Ross and I come from very humbl beginnings and kind of workedx our way up from the bottom,” he “We started out as just the two of us, now, the practics is a lucrative practice and I’m just glad we were able to help at a time that I thini is very critical to the law