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Williams Institute at UCLA Law School Announces $5.5 Million in New Gifts Supporting Groundbreaking Research on Sexual Orientation Law and Policy

The Williams Institute, a research center at UCLA School of Law, is the country`s first national think tank dedicated to research on issues of sexual orientation law and public policy, and it is the only research center at a law school dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues. Experts at the Williams Institute provide rigorous, independent research and scholarship. The Institute makes information available to judges, legislators and policymakers through public policy studies, law review articles, amicus briefs, expert testimony at legislative hearings, public education through media visibility and trainings for lawyers and judges.

"We are thrilled that these individuals were moved by the work of the Williams Institute to support us so generously," said Brad Sears, Executive Director of the Williams Institute. "Donors like Norman Blachford and Peter Cooper, Mike Gleason and David Kettel, Jim Hooker, and our founder Chuck Williams are making an important investment in the future of fair and informed jurisprudence and public policy in America."

Endowment gifts equaling $5.5 million to the Williams Institute have been generously given by the following individuals:

Chuck Williams
Chuck Williams, the founder of the Williams Institute, has given over $10 million to help endow the Williams Institute. His new gift of $2 million will be combined with a prior gift of $2 million to endow the Williams Distinguished Senior Research Fellows. Mr. Williams` gift is the largest gift ever to an academic institution to support LGBT issues. The fellowship program will support the interdisciplinary public policy research of the Institute. Williams Distinguished Fellows will have a degree and expertise in a field other than law, such as economics, public policy, demography, political science, sociology, psychology, or public health.

"It is hard to believe that just over five years ago, I saw the huge gap in the public policy landscape and tried to help fill it by founding the Institute," said Chuck Williams. "I am so proud of what the Williams Institute has accomplished so quickly. I am endowing the Williams Distinguished Senior Research Fellowship to build upon that success."

Jim Hooker
The gift of $1.5 million from Jim Hooker will endow the R. Bradley Sears Law Teaching Fellowship. The Fellowship will prepare outstanding law school graduates for careers in law teaching and scholarship in the field of sexual orientation law and public policy. The Williams Institute has already supported four such law teaching fellows, each of whom has successfully obtained a highly competitive tenure-track position at an accredited law school in the United States - including at the law schools of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Utah.

"The law teaching fellowship is an excellent way to develop new leaders in sexual orientation law and public policy. When the fellows become law professors, they have the opportunity to not only develop their own scholarship but to teach law students, law faculty, and the legal communities that are associated with their schools about sexual orientation issues," said Jim Hooker. "I`m particularly impressed with the leadership of Williams Institute`s Executive Director Brad Sears, which is why I am creating the R. Bradley Sears Law Teaching Fellowship."

Peter J. Cooper and Norman Blachford

Peter J. Cooper and Norman Blachford`s gift of $1 million will endow the Peter J. Cooper Public Policy Fellowship. The Fellowship will support the critical public policy research and scholarship of the Williams Institute. It will be offered annually to a qualified college or graduate school graduate who has a demonstrated interest in conducting research and writing on sexual orientation public policy issues.

"The policy work of the Institute replaces myths and stereotypes with facts," says Peter J. Cooper "For example, there is a myth that gay people are rich. Williams Institute research has shown that, on average gay mean earn 10%-32% less than straight men and that same-sex couples with children have significantly fewer economic resources than married couples with children. This kind of research changes minds and changes lives."

Mike Gleason and David Kettel

The $1 million gift from Mike Gleason and David Kettel will endow the Gleason/Kettel Endowment Fund. The Fund will support in perpetuity the general operating expenses of the Williams Institute. The donors have a special interest in funding programs that support law students in becoming future LGBT law and policy leaders, such as the annual Williams Institute Moot Court Competition and the Gleason/Kettel Summer Fellowship Program.

"We have seen the impact that the Williams Institute has had in the emergent and quickly growing field of sexual orientation law," said Mike Gleason. "We are particularly impressed by the ways that the Institute supports law and graduate students throughout the country. By investing in the Williams Institute, we are investing in a better future."

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