To our colleagues in the NYLS Class of 1976,

We were Dean Shapiro’s first class!

And he cared about us.

Dean E. Donald Shapiro contributed enormously to the standing of New York Law School, to our educational experiences, and to our professional development with his good cheer, his patience and his genuine interest in our well-being. As you know, Dean Shapiro died this winter after a long battle with cancer, and as a Class, we would like to honor him.

We hope to have a very large turn out from the Class of 1976 at the Reunion festivities on Friday, April 29th and Saturday, April 30th. Whether you can attend the Reunion or not, please join us in honoring our Dean. It is for the reasons we state here (as well as the many other reasons we’re sure you can come up with), that the Class of 1976 Reunion Committee has decided to honor the memory of Dean Shapiro by establishing the Class of 1976 E. Donald Shapiro Scholarship, with the goal of raising $100,000 this year and $250,000 over five (5) years. We are delighted to announce that we are off to a good start towards those goals – a total of $92,500 towards the $250,000 goal has already been committed by several of our classmates.

The Scholarship will be officially announced during the Reunion Weekend and will be commemorated thereafter by both a plaque under the portrait of Dean Shapiro and on the Crystal Wall in our new NYLS facility. We expect to be joined by his widow Mrs. Merle Shapiro, who will travel from Arizona to be present as we honor our former Dean.

We hope we can get 100% participation from the NYLS Class of 1976 in funding of the E. Donald Shapiro Scholarship. Please give generously at whatever level you deem appropriate.

We look forward to seeing each of you soon.

Warm regards,

Jeffrey Kapelman                           Gail S. Port

P.S. A five-year pledge can be made to the Law School, and then paid in monthly, quarterly or annual installments on a credit card.  This often allows an individual to support the Law School at a higher level than they may have originally thought possible. 

Please consider the following installment plans for your reunion class gift. To make your gift online, please click on the total gift amount listed below or click here for gift amounts not listed below. Please indicate Class of 1976 E. Donald Shapiro Scholarship in the comments section of the form.