Lowell Sun, Tuesday, October 25, 2006

Rappaport family's $5M donation largest in Suffolk Law School history

By Rick Heller, Sun Statehouse Bureau

BOSTON -- Suffolk University Law School yesterday announced the largest gift in its history, a $5 million donation from the Rappaport Foundation to create a center for law and public policy.

U.S Rep. Marty Meehan, a graduate of Suffolk Law School and a trustee of the university, was among those who thanked Jerome and Phyllis Rappaport, at a ceremony in Sargent Hall, the law school's home across from Boston Common.
"It is an honor to be here with you to say thank you so much for this incredible contribution, the significance of which we can only begin to imagine," Meehan said.
Wearing a yellow rose boutonniere, the Lowell Democrat said the new center would encourage young lawyers to enter public service instead of the more highly-paid private sector.

Suffolk University President David Sargent praised Jerome Rappaport's involvement in public affairs, which began in the 1940s with a successful campaign to unseat Boston Mayor James Michael Curley and replace him with John Hynes, who served as acting mayor while Curley was in prison.

After the ceremony, Meehan reflected about his own debt to the law school.
"Back in 1993, I wrote a prosecution memo for the Justice Department -- for Janet Reno -- that served as the basis for the investigation of the tobacco companies," Meehan said. "If I hadn't attended Suffolk University, it would have been very difficult to put together that type of a proposal. I think it made me a better legislator."

Made available with permission of the publisher.