The Faculty of Law welcomes gifts that support our world-leading research and teaching and that align with our approved academic priorities. In December 2021, the Faculty received a donation from Amazon in the amount of US $450,000. The gift supported scholarship and experiential education in law and economics, a field in which we are globally recognized, and which spans diverse scholarly areas including competition law, innovation law, and law and technology.
The gift adhered to the University’s policy on donations and, in keeping with reporting procedures for charitable gifts, was included in quarterly donor reports to the Governing Council through its Academic and Business Boards in March of 2022. The Faculty, through its regular academic processes, made all decisions around research and scholarly activities, in accordance with the University’s fundamental commitment to academic freedom and institutional autonomy.
The gift was earmarked to support our law and economics activities broadly, with expenditures at the discretion of Faculty leadership. There were no restrictions on how the gift was to be used. In accordance with normal donor relations practices, staff at the Faculty of Law shared several initiatives with the donor in areas of common interest.
To date, the gift has supported stipends for six student research assistants; venue, travel-related and hospitality expenses for events; and communications costs. It has also supported a staff position to coordinate, among other things, an online speaker series.
The donor did not seek recognition for the gift. I decided not to share the source of financial support because fostering open discussion and debate that reflects the full range of perspectives in the field was my top priority. All viewpoints were welcome, and communicating the source of the funding could have created a misperception that some perspectives would be prioritized over others. I recognize now that more information may have been preferred to enable some of our participants and invited speakers to fully evaluate their engagement in these activities.
Less than half of the gift has been spent. The remainder will be used to support internships and non-curricular activities for students as well as financial aid for students with demonstrated interests in competition law, innovation law, and law and technology.
As a learning community with an unwavering commitment to academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and continuous improvement, the Faculty will work in partnership with the Division of University Advancement to survey best practices with respect to recognition and disclosure of corporate giving. I look forward to drawing from those findings to inform our decision-making regarding future law-related gifts.
Jutta Brunnée, FRSC
Dean, University Professor and James Marshall Tory Dean's Chair
