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October 29, 2024

Estate of Stan and Alta Barer makes transformational gift to UW School of Law to support global sustainable development program

The University of Washington on Tuesday announced a transformational gift from the estate of Stan and Alta Barer to the School of Law, expanding the couple’s namesake institute: The Barer Institute for Leadership in Law & Global Development. The gift will support the recruitment of additional international fellows, increase scholarships, endow faculty positions and create more global impact.

The $45 million gift, one of the largest bequests in UW history, will cement the UW School of Law’s reputation and impact as an internationally known center for excellence in global sustainable development. The gift will allow the Barer Institute to expand its work with mid-career attorneys from developing countries, enabling them to come to Washington state and then return to their homes to improve health outcomes, advocate for law and justice, boost education and spur economic development. Building on previous gifts the Barers made to the School of Law, the total endowment for the Institute is more than $50 million. The gift also renames the Institute, formerly known as the Barer Institute for Law & Global Human Services.

“We are honored to extend Stan and Alta’s inspiring legacy of global leadership development with the help of this transformative investment,” said UW President Ana Mari Cauce. “The work of the Barer Institute to cultivate talented mid-career attorneys for the benefit of their home countries and the world is one of our law school’s most innovative and effective programs, and we are delighted to be able to expand its reach.”

Since its founding in 2010, the Barer Institute has contributed to the UW’s commitment to global engagement and impact, and upheld the University’s core value of educating a diverse student body to become responsible global citizens and future leaders.

In 2008, the Barers gave $4 million to establish an institute that would improve outcomes in governance and multi-dimensional development in low and lower-middle income countries and countries in political transition. Each year, the Institute brings three to four fellows to the UW — there have been nearly 50 fellows since inception — where they earn a Master of Laws degree in Sustainable International Development.

“Receiving this gift during the School of Law’s 125th anniversary is special as we celebrate the transformative power of our graduates,” said Tamara Lawson, the Toni Rembe Dean of the School of Law. “Thanks to Stan and Alta’s generosity, the Institute will continue robust engagement and meaningful collaboration. UW Law is furthering the life’s work of Stan Barer and his aim to impact law around the world.”

The new gift will build upon the Barer Institute’s original mission in several ways, including:

• Increasing support for fellowships and scholarships to recruit more students to the Institute and hire post-doctoral research fellows focused on human rights, global business and climate issues. The gift also will help pay for international travel to support the fellows and other Institute participants.
• Funding to recruit Juris Doctor students to the Barer Fellows Program.
• Reinforcing UW School of Law’s impact on sustainable development while expanding its work on the rule of law, the global climate challenge and sustainable business in a changing world.
• Endowing a faculty appointment for a Barer Chair to lead the Institute and participate in cross-disciplinary and global conferences, symposia and networking events. Anita Ramasastry will be the inaugural chair.
• Providing critical program and operating support to develop the Institute into a robust and renowned hub known internationally for promoting global leadership and the rule of law. This will include hiring an executive director to develop and implement programming, as well as an assistant director to help manage programming, and recruit and provide support to the students interested in careers focused on global issues in government, public service and sustainable business. Jennifer Lenga-Long was tapped to serve in the inaugural executive director role.

“Stan’s impact on our state, region and the world cannot be overstated. One of his significant contributions as a leader was his work re-opening trade between the U.S. and China, and his dedication to finding shared values and connection in our global world. Stan’s lifelong work will continue to be felt around the world as this generous gift will empower global leaders and citizens to find innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems,” said former U.S. Ambassador to China and former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a friend and colleague of Barer’s.

Stanley H. Barer, who went by Stan, was a world-renowned Seattle attorney, UW Regent and UW alumnus (Class of 1963), who died in 2021. He received the 2021 Gates Volunteer Service Award, the University’s highest honor for volunteer service, prior to his passing. His wife, Alta, preceded him in death in 2019.

The son of immigrants, Stan Barer grew up in Walla Walla before attending the UW, where he earned his undergraduate degree and then his Juris Doctor. Barer experienced bigotry, antisemitism and discrimination growing up and in the workplace when law firms wouldn’t hire Jews. He went to Washington, D.C., to work for Washington Sen. Warren G. Magnuson, eventually becoming his chief of staff. Barer learned that he could combat prejudice using the power of the law and he served as the U.S. Senate lawyer for the enactment the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act, helping to write the legislation. He also discovered that he needn’t be constrained by national borders, and that he could craft policy that supported global development. Barer was instrumental in re-establishing trade with China in 1979 and securing Seattle as a significant port-of-call.

Barer brought his years of experience to the UW’s highest levels of volunteer leadership, serving as a Regent from 2004 to 2012 and as a member of the UW Foundation Board. He also held volunteer roles with UW Law, UW Medicine and the Burke Museum. Alta Barer also advocated for the transformative power of education and research. At the UW, she served on the Law Committee during a UW fundraising campaign and, together with her husband, hosted numerous events at their home.

“This bequest exemplifies Stan and Alta’s belief in the power of education, the rule of law, and in the critical importance of focusing on what we have in common across cultures instead of what separates us,” said their daughter Leigh K. Barer. “We look forward to seeing the Institute expand and flourish because of their visionary gift.”

Together, Stan and Alta Barer left a decades-long legacy of philanthropy at the UW. They played central roles in the construction of William H. Gates Hall, the School of Law’s home. Across campus, the couple also endowed faculty positions in the College of the Environment, sponsored cancer research at UW Medicine and supported graduate education in the sciences.

“The expanded Barer Institute will serve as a hub for graduate students interested in international careers in service of the global common good, including the advancement of human rights, global justice and the rule of law, and indigenous people’s rights. True to Stan’s vision, it will recognize and build upon multidisciplinary approaches to tackling the world’s greatest challenges by engaging with scholars and practitioners within and beyond the UW,” said Anita Ramasastry, director of the Barer Institute and the Henry M. Jackson Endowed Professor of Law.

For more information about The Barer Institute for Leadership in Law & Global Development, click here.

Tag(s): Ana Mari Cauce • Anita Ramasastry • Barer Institute for Law and Global Human Services • School of Law • Tamara Lawson

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