$1 Million Estate Gift from USC Gould School of Law Alumnus Provides Scholarship Support

Contact: Leslie Ridgeway,  lridgeway@law.usc.edu or 213-740-9690 (office), 619-252-4984 (mobile)

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020

$1 Million Estate Gift from USC Gould School of Law Alumnus Provides Scholarship Support

Susan and David Howard’s gift will benefit students who self-identify as the first in their family to graduate from college and pursue an advanced degree.

LOS ANGELES – The University of Southern California Gould School of Law today announced a generous $1 million gift from USC Gould alumnus and tax law attorney David Howard (JD 1970) and his wife Susan, to establish a new scholarship with positive consideration given to USC Gould students who self-identify as the first in their family to graduate from college and pursue an advanced degree.

The Susan and David Howard Endowed Scholarship Fund includes an initial pledge of $100,000 to establish the scholarship endowment, with the remainder to be added through an estate gift.  The endowment will provide scholarship funds annually to law students. David Howard, a “Triple Trojan,” earned a bachelor’s degree from the Marshall School of Business in 1966 and a Master of Public Administration from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy in 1970, prior to earning his law degree.

The gift complements the support provided through the USC Gould School’s C. David Molina First-Generation Professionals program, which was established in 2015 to provide mentorship, networking opportunities and informational events for first-generation students or students from lower-income backgrounds.

“This gift not only demonstrates the strength of the Gould Trojan Family during a critical time in our history, but also reflects a firm belief in the talent of our students, regardless of their background,” said Dean Andrew T. Guzman. “We are deeply thankful to David and Susan Howard for this investment toward furthering the success of every law student.”

Howard, a tax law attorney who retired as a national partner of Deloitte LLP and now operates his own private tax and business law practice in San Jose, Calif., said law school changed his life, and the gift is his way of returning that favor.

“Law school expanded my horizons and the ways I thought about the world. Our hope is to create important opportunities for students to have that same experience,” Howard said. “First-generation students bring so much to the classroom as well as the legal profession — and this gift is a contribution to their journey.”

In addition to his work as a tax attorney, Howard has taught as an adjunct at University of California Santa Barbara and in the graduate school of business master of taxation program at San Jose State University.

About the USC Gould School of Law

The USC Gould School of Law is a private top 20 law school with a reputation for academic excellence and a world-class faculty.  USC Gould is known for its inclusive and collegial student body, its leadership in clinical education, and its supportive and global alumni network.  Located in Los Angeles, one of the nation’s top legal markets and a hub for major law and entertainment firms, the Gould School offers a dynamic laboratory for legal training.

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