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The Ex-Donald Bren School of Law
November 13th, 2008, 3:30 am · 9 Comments · posted by Tom
Tom Bell
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 billionaire 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.
Read Donald Bren’s naming agreement with UCI here
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.”
Marla Jo Fisher added the following updates:
Read the August 2007 story about Bren’s initial naming gift here
UPDATE from UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon: “There has been no renegotiation of the gift agreement. We do not have to give back the $20 million.”
SECOND UPDATE: I just received this email from the Irvine Company:
UCI requested the name change in order to be consistent with other UC
schools and the trend away from naming law schools after major donors,
and Mr. Bren agreed to accommodate UCI’s request. His earlier announced
gift of $20 million remains intact and we look forward to a world-class
law school at UCI.
Hope that helps. Please let me know if you need any additional
information.
Best,
John Christensen
Vice President, Media Relations
Irvine Company
[Crossposted at MoneyLaw and College Life O.C.]
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This probably occurred because Erwin Chemerinsky was hired as the Dean of the school !
Or maybe Erwin didn’t want Bren’s name on the new stationary…?
Yup, $20 a year for a million years.
You don’t want to renege on a pledge to a law school.
You’ll have the entire graduating class trying to sue you!
MAYBE THEY SHOULD NAME IT TVU.
Where I come from, if you want something in return, it’s not charity. I hope one of the lawyer/students tries to block any tax deductions he claims for whatever he gives.
And what is so bad about “The Law School of (at) The University of California, Irvine.” Says it all…
Give him his 20 Mill Back .
The Billionaire Horse Thief and Ranch Thief. They say, rumor has it, that very few people around here know that Donald Bren, was a sneaky lawyer who stole the Irvine Ranch away from the Irvine family - Joan Irvine. She thought she was selling it to a certain buyer entity, but didn’t know that Donald was in the deal. She was tricked. Haven’t you ever wondered how Donald Bren took over the Irvine Company and is worth $8-10 billion, while the real Irvine family is worth a lot less? How did that happen? The law school should do an investigation on that story. This comes from people that say they know first hand about it. I was told this by people that say they personally know her. When I first moved here, I wondered how come he was so rich, and he wasn’t part of the Irvine family. And, how come the Irvine family wasn’t as rich. Think about that. The O.C. Register should do a story on that. Or the O.C. Weekly. I’ve love to read it… Forget about giving $20 mill. to the law school, and wanting your name on the school, building and stationary, and instead, help the poor and homeless of O.C. Why do all these billionaires have to have their names plastered on the side of every building at universities? Like Trump this and Trump that? Big egoes. They can’t take their money with them, that’s for sure… So I guess they want their name everywhere. Take from the rich, give to the poor. Robinhood.
Maybe its because Bren and the Irvine co. are responsible for reaping the benefits of the mass destruction of thousands of acres of California’s most biologically important habitat.