Written by: Carrie Kirby

Law school offers a rare opportunity among scholarly pursuits: Students, rather than degreed professors and researchers, write and edit many of the preeminent journals in the field.

Through Iowa Law’s four journals, “students actively get to be a part of the legal community,” said West Connors (25JD), former student editor of the Iowa Law Review (ILR). Working at ILR, as well as at the Journal of Corporation Law (JCL), Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems (TLCP), and the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice (JGRJ), students hone one of the most important skills in an attorney’s arsenal—and one particularly central to a University of Iowa legal education: writing.

“Iowa holds itself up as The Writing Law School,” Connors said, “and the Iowa Law Review really tries to uphold that legacy.”

Since so many alumni cherish their time at these journals, it is only fitting that several have stepped up to establish endowments for each publication. The alumni hope—with the support of more and more of their classmates—that these endowments grow to the point of ensuring indefinite robust health for all four journals, through present and future challenges.

Building impactful endowments

• Iowa Law Review: A past editor of ILR started the journal’s endowment with a personal gift. She named it the Norma Westphal Editors Fund, a tribute to ILR’s late longtime secretary. The editor, who wishes to remain anonymous, credits her time at ILR for helping her become a succinct legal writer. “Anything I could do to foster activities that put written communication and research at the forefront is important,” she said. Based on current expenses, ILR will need about $2 million to become self-sustaining.

• Journal of Corporation Law: While JCL’s endowment fund was established years ago, alumni Abhay Nadipuram (13JD) and Tina Solis (94BA, 97JD) gave it a boost during last year’s One Day for Iowa campaign by reaching out to classmates to solicit matching gifts. This year, when the annual fundraising day came along in March, they did it again. “It is fun to reconnect with people, and this was an opportunity for the law school to engage with alumni, regardless of whether they are giving $100 or $1,000,” Nadipuram said of the endowment, which has a target of $2 million. The increased support has helped JCL host a symposium celebrating its 50th anniversary; the journal was also able to add a new editorial position. This spring, JCL’s editors were working on their 50th volume, which featured articles that grew out of the symposium. “Volume 50 will be the largest issue that I am aware of,” said former editor Alexander Hook (25JD).

• Journal of Gender, Race & Justice: Erika Hollis (94BA, 97JD), Julie Ralston Aoki (97JD), and other members of the class of 1997 founded JGRJ. In 2022, some of those founding editors marked the journal’s 25th anniversary by creating an endowment fund with a goal of $800,000 for the journal to be self-sustaining. Elliott Abromeit (25JD), former student editor of JGRJ, hopes the endowment’s support will allow the journal to hire an additional student editor. “The journal has many fewer editors for the workload they do than a lot of other legal journals,” Abromeit said. The endowment also helps support JGRJ-hosted symposiums, which cover timely topics such as reproductive health in a digital world

• Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems: Thirty years ago, David Alberts (91JD) and classmates worked with international law faculty to create TLCP. Now, Alberts is spearheading efforts to make TLCP self-sustaining. The effort has made a promising start toward TLCP’s endowment target of $800,000. The support has helped TLCP add a new board position: the editor of the journal’s semiannual symposiums, the most recent of which explored artificial intelligence and international humanitarian law. TLCP has also been able to update its website and add the capacity for blog posts, something that incoming editors are excited to write, said former student editor Madison Rush (25JD). “As a contemporary journal, it would be nice to be able to react immediately to international events,” Rush said.

An uncertain future

These endowments have already been a boon to all four journals, but since none of the endowments has yet grown to the size where it could support a journal, the college still provides a large portion of each journal’s funding. In an age where universities nationwide face pressure to slash budgets, this could put the journals in a precarious position. That is why all the student editors and the alumni raising funds for the journals understand the importance of growing these endowments.

“Fundamental to higher education is the ability for students, faculty, and staff to engage in academic inquiry
on all subjects,” said Hollis, the JGRJ alumna. “Right now, unfortunately, it appears to be clearer and clearer that it is necessary for private entities to support academic freedom, because state and federal funding is no longer a reliable source.”

Beyond survival, it is important that the journals maintain their tradition of excellence. Everything the endowments do, from expanding staff capacity to providing much-needed technology updates, supports that goal.

Looking ahead

All the alumni and current students involved in the journals’ endowments share a common wish: that more alumni will lend their support. If this happens, they feel confident they can ensure longevity, resilience, and independence for the journals that taught them so much.

Alberts, who organized TLCP’s endowment, points out that fully funding the journals’ endowments would also strengthen the entire college. If all four journal endowments grow to the level of sustaining
operations, Alberts said, “You are talking about a pretty significant budget item that the law school does not have to worry about.”