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The Ex-Donald Bren School of Law

By Jim Chen et al.

The U.C. Irvine School of Law recently announced that it will not carry the name, "Bren," contrary to an earlier agreement honoring a $20 million gift by philanthropist Donald Bren, chairman of the Irvine Company. Why the change of plans? According to an Irvine Company spokesman, "part of the reason to drop the name was to avoid confusion with other schools that are named after Bren on the campus of UC Irvine" (emphasis added). That careful phrasing suggests other, unnamed, reasons also played a role in the name change.

It certainly seems as if Bren now means to distance himself from the fledgling law school. Note that his website's description of Bren's philanthropy makes no mention of his $20 million gift to U.C. Irvine School of Law. The omission appears deliberate, moreover, given that the gift would rank among the most generous he has made. Even more tellingly, reference to the Internet Archives shows that the same webpage formerly gave Bren's gift to the law school top billing.

Does that mean that the U.C. Irvine School of Law has lost Bren's gift? The Orange County Business Journal reports that "Bren still is good for $20 million," a somewhat cryptic phrasing?one that leaves open the possibility that Bren withdrew the gift but that he stands ready to reinstate it upon certain conditions. Consistent with that reading, the same source added, "Bren's name could be added later."

[Crossposted at MoneyLaw and College Life O.C.]

Full post as published by MoneyLaw on November 13, 2008 (boomark / email).