Patz family endows U of MD Law with $5M

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jul 11, 2002 by Alisa Bralove

Two days after faculty and students moved into the University of Maryland's new law school building, the school announced it would name the building for the late Nathan Patz, a 1926 alumnus.

The naming recognizes the recent $5 million donation - the largest in the school's history - by Patz's family and friends.

Patz practiced law in Baltimore up until his death in 1998. At 93, he was thought to be the oldest practicing attorney in the state.

"It's a wonderful gift to be able to have somebody who really symbolizes integrity and professionalism. That's who Nathan Patz was," said Dean Karen Rothenberg. "Putting his name on the law school signifies so much."

His daughter, Barbara Patz, summed up the motivation for the gift: "My father gave so much to his family and we wanted to be able to honor him," she said.

Active in the school's alumni association and serving as its president, Nathan Patz, with his wife Doris, had a long history of philanthropy, much of it directed to University of Maryland.

In 1980, they established the Nathan Patz Student Loan fund for law students. The Patzes also established the Law Library Fund.

Doris Patz helped organize the Maryland Artists Collection at University of Maryland University College; in November 2000, the collection was renamed in her honor. The couple also funded the Nathan Patz Educational Excellence in Writing Program for the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Day School.

The latest donation, Rothenberg said, is not going to pay for the building. That was already financed by public and private funds. Rather, it is an unrestricted endowment that will fund faculty development and enhance existing services.

"It's being used for people, not the bricks and mortar," she said. "We have the building foundation, and now we can take the endowment to transform what goes on inside.

"It really is a transformative gift because it will allow us to use the money in a way to enhance a particular strategic initiative, based on what our needs are in a particular year."

Born in Newport News, Va., Patz graduated from UM Law School in 1926. He opened his first law practice on Charles Street and soon moved offices to Light Street. He stayed there for the remainder of his career as a sole practitioner doing mostly corporate and estate work.

"He was an outstanding lawyer," said Earle K. Shawe of Shawe & Rosenthal. "He was a gentleman at all times. I think it's quite a tribute to his alma mater. I don't know of anybody more deserving."

"He came from that mold of lawyers that Baltimore was noted for - outstanding individual practitioners."

The law school's dedication, which is scheduled for Sept. 20, will feature U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the speaker, as well as Gov. Parris N. Glendening.

"In these times of Enron and WorldCom, it is such a symbolic gift to have the pillar of integrity and professionalism in our community," Rothenberg added.