A prominent Jewish philanthropist recently donated the largest scholarship gift in the history of the Georgetown University Law Center: $10 million to support the “future of
public service.”
Alfred Moses, a Baltimore native, Washington, D.C., attorney and former ambassador to Romania, said he wants to make it more financially feasible for students to pursue careers in public interest law. His $10 million gift will provide such students full-ride scholarships to the Georgetown University Law Center, according to William Treanor, a professor and former dean of GULC.
“From firemen to presidents, [public servants] are the ones we depend upon,” Moses said. “They’re the people who protect us, the people who run the government, provide for the general welfare — nothing is more important. … We all benefit when we have competent public servants.”
Moses’ historic gift will help offset the increasing costs of attending law school, not to mention one of the best law schools in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Treanor announced the news of the $10 million gift at the tail end of his term as dean.
“[This donation] really is transformative,” Treanor said. “Because law school is so expensive, people who want to pursue careers in the public interest often graduate with significant debt, so that limits their ability to pursue the kinds of careers that they want to pursue because they have to pay the debt.”
The estimated cost of basic living for Juris Doctor and master’s students in the 2024–25 academic year is $25,364 for housing, utilities, food and health insurance, according to the
GULC’s website.
That cost, as well as the costs for books, personal expenses and transportation, are added to $79,672 in tuition for full-time J.D. students and $82,264 for full-time master’s students, bringing the estimated cost of attendance to $113,450 and $115,812 for the respective programs.
The website adds a predicted rise in cost for the upcoming school year, with costs increasing to an approximated $118,980 for full-time J.D. students and $121,460 for full-time master’s students.
As a result of those costs, around 90% of law students borrow to pay for their education as of 2024, according to statistics from the Education Data Initiative.
Of those 90%, the average student takes out around $100,000 in loans for a J.D. and owes approximately $130,000 by graduation.
That debt can take anywhere from a few years to multiple decades to pay off, with some salary and interest situations making it impossible to pay off loans unless the recipient switchs to a higher-paying job.
This impacts public sector lawyers the hardest, as their median salary for a recent graduate is $57,000, compared to $200,000 for private sector lawyers.
Treanor said some recipients of the scholarships may go on to work for law firms, practice law pro bono or focus on a public service career as a prosecutor, public defender or
elected official.
“This makes it possible for people to take on jobs like that without any hesitation,” Treanor said.
This scholarship gift — not Moses’ first contribution to the Law Center — aligns with Georgetown University’s 150-year legacy, Treanor said.
“It’s about opening doors,” he said. “That’s at the core of our vision of the school. This is something that’s going to make a difference, open the lives of students who get this scholarship and the lives of people who they affect because of the careers that they’ll be able to launch.”
Moses’ gift will serve as the basis for a newly created Public Interest Scholars Program Endowed Fund. His goal is to raise a fund of $50 million “so that over time, we can have many hundreds of graduates committed to public service as a career,” according to a press release.
Moses himself attended the GULC as an evening student while serving as a Naval officer in the 1950s, describing his time there as a “wonderful experience.”
“I have very fond memories of the professors, the coursework and great friends,” Moses said in the press release. “It’s where I learned to love the law.”
He wants to give back to the university that launched a long career of public service: six decades at the law firm Covington & Burling LLP and many roles in the United States government, including serving as special advisor and special counsel to President Jimmy Carter and U.S. ambassador to Romania from 1994 to 1997. Moses also served as the national president of the American Jewish Committee in the early 1990s.
He received an honorary degree from the GULC about 10 years ago for his contributions to the country and world, Treanor said.
Passionate about education and Jewish causes, Moses has also donated to Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville and Banneker High School in Washington, D.C.
His philanthropy has provided scholarships for hundreds of Ethiopian Jews who now hold university degrees and funded the construction of AJC’s Jerusalem headquarters.
“I give because it allows me to benefit others,” he said. “Nothing is more rewarding than helping others. It’s a great mitzvah.”
