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Jessica Copen
City News Service
Tuesday, September 30, 2003

WESTWOOD -- The UCLA School of Law announced today a $4 million donation to support the Charles R. Williams Project on Sexual Orientation Law.

Williams, a philanthropist and educator, previously pledged $3 million to found and support the project, which is "dedicated to advancing critical thought in the field of sexual orientation law and public policy."

According to UCLA officials, Williams is the largest donor to any Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender academic program in the country.

"Think tanks opposed to the rights of lesbians and gay men have existed for decades," he said. "I want to challenge other donors with this gift and inspire them to help in creating this important resource."

Williams said it is "critical that there be a think tank based in an academic institution that objectively analyzes issues of sexual orientation law and public policy."

His latest gift will create two Williams Project programs -- the Williams Fellowship and the Visiting Scholars program.

The school plans to raise an additional $500,000 to fully fund the fellowship, which will train new law teachers and scholars who work in the field of sexual orientation law and public policy. The first fellow will be selected this year and begin next fall.

The Visiting Scholars program, which will begin in the fall of 2006, will allow a law professor to visit the project to teach and conduct research for one semester.

"These two new programs will firmly establish the Williams Project as a national center for the study of sexual orientation law and public policy," said project director Brad Sears. "The additional faculty will create a critical mass of researchers and scholars working on these issues."

Williams' donation and a $500,000 pledge by an anonymous donor brings the project's total endowment to $7.5 million, more than half of the project's total endowment goal of more than $15 million, according to the university.

LOAD-DATE: October 1, 2003