Chairs for the Leitner Family Professors of International Human Rights

In April 2005, the Leitner family pledged $2 million dollars to Fordham Law School to establish a chair in international human rights. The gift was the second largest non-bequeathed gift that the Law School has ever received. In February 2007, the Leitners made a gift of an additional $2 million to establish a second chair in international human rights. Professors Martin Flaherty and Thomas Lee now each hold a Leitner Family Chair in International Human Rights. They will continue to spearhead the Law School’s international human rights efforts under the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice. The Leitner Chairs’ funding structure is unique in that income generated by the Chair endowment directly supports the international human rights program and related initiatives, rather than to faculty salaries, to offer students hands-on opportunities in the human rights area.