Texas Tech University

 
 
Creating a Brighter FutureChanging the Future Begins Here

THE DAVID W. COPELAND ('82) FAMILY FOUNDATION HAS PLEDGED $250,000 TO MATCH DONATIONS MADE TO SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENTS BENEFITING STUDENTS WHO ARE THE FIRST IN THEIR FAMILIES TO GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE.

Students who are the first in their families to graduate from college face unique challenges, which may complicate their introduction into the legal profession.

Law students who are first-generation college graduates frequently are burdened with significant undergraduate student loans. The cost of attending law school places an even greater strain on their finances, and thus their futures by limiting the jobs they are able to accept to service their debt and limiting other life choices.

Texas Tech Law is the No. 18 in the Nation “Best Value” Law School and has one of the lowest tuitions in the State of Texas, but it remains very expensive to attend law school.

First-year law students who take a full schedule of 15 credits each semester can expect average annual expenses of $43,000. Absent extraordinary circumstances, first year law students are encourage not to work, making scholarship expenditures more and more important.

With the David W. Copeland ('82) Family Foundation matching funds, a named scholarship can be endowed with a minimum gift of $12,500.

Generally established with a gift of at least $25,000, your endowed scholarship will be an ongoing and personal way for you to provide life-changing opportunities for generations of Texas Tech law students.

“WITHOUT MY SCHOLARSHIP, I DON’T KNOW IF I WOULD BE IN LAW SCHOOL RIGHT NOW. IT REALLY HELPED ME PAVE MY OWN WAY. DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS ARE LIFE CHANGING—BY CONTRIBUTING THEY’RE GIVING PEOPLE LIKE ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING THAT OUR FAMILIES HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO.”  - AYISSA MALDONADO '22

Texas Tech Law has a special responsibility to provide opportunities to students who are the first in their families to graduate from college.

We have committed substantial recruitment efforts and scholarship expenditures to first-generation students and we are so proud of the number of first-generation students entering the Law School over the past five years.

These students are determined to succeed and can be found among our very top students, including law review editors, advocacy champions, student organization leaders, published authors, and prestigious judicial clerks.

We have given these students the tremendous opportunities for success associated with our outstanding and affordable education, and they in turn have performed among our best and brightest. They are graduating with top skills and lower debt, and they are ready to do the good work that only lawyers can do for their clients and communities.

With your help, we can provide even more opportunities and make everyone's future a little brighter.

David W. Copeland ('82) became the first member of his family to graduate from college when he walked the stage at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls in 1979.  He remembers lots of great stories from his time at Texas Tech Law, which range from playing intramural sports to creating lasting friendships with people he still works with today.  Despite the fun he had in law school, David remembers the expenses associated with being a law student, which is why he gives back to Texas Tech Law whenever he can.  Executive Vice President and General Counsel of SM Energy Company, David serves on the Board of Trustees of the Texas Tech Law School Foundation and was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Law School in 2011.  David has supported the Law School for many years, establishing the Copeland Energy Law Endowment, the Copeland Fellows Program, and the Janet Scivally and David Copeland Endowed Professorship.  Today, David stands ready to lead the way in support of first-generation college students.

THANKS TO A GENEROUS GIFT FROM THE DAVID W. COPELAND ('82) FAMILY FOUNDATION, MATCHING FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PHILANTHROPIC GIFTS TO FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENTS.

If you have ever considered establishing a scholarship endowment, taking advantage of these matching funds now will allow you to make an even larger direct impact on first-generation students at the Law School.

  • This is a 100% match for scholarship endowments ranging from $12,500 to $25,000 from a single donor.
  • The gift can be pledged over 3 years.
  • The gift or first pledge payment must be received within 90 days of the date of the gift agreement.
  • Gifts to establish a new scholarship endowment or new gifts to current scholarship endowments that support students who are the first in their families to graduate from college will be matched.

MATCHING FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS AND ARE EXPECTED TO BE EXPENDED VERY QUICKLY!

To establish your personal scholarship endowment, contact Karen Holden, Director of Development and Donor Relations, at 806-834-4910 or karen.holden@ttu.edu.

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