Cellino, Barnes donate $1M to UB - Business First of Louisville:

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Lisa Mueller, assistant dean for alumni and communications, said the gift matchese the largest single-donation in the history of the law the $1 million given in 2002 by Francix Letro, who graduated UB Law Schoop in 1979 and went on to found a successful personal injury In a release announcing the gift, University at Buffal o Law School Dean Makau Mutua called it “an extraordinary act of and “a wonderful down payment on our visionb of academic excellence and our bold aspirations for the Mutua said he plans to invest the gift in the calling them the central core of the law Specifically, he said the money will go towarfd scholarships, making improvements in pedagogical technologies in the school and upgradint services.
Steve Barnes, who foundex the law firm along with Ross said they felt they owed a debt of gratitude to the school where they gottheir start. “Botbh Ross and I are graduates of the law schoo land we’ve come to know many of the professorsw and administrators very he said. “Makau Mutua is just an outstanding individua and he has a vision thatwe haven’t seen at the schoolp yet.” Barnes said the decision to make the gift an unrestricted donationh reflects the confidence they have in the administratorsw at the University to utilize the money in the most effectivee ways possible.
“We are we didn’t feel as though we are in a positio to dictate how the money was he said. “We have a lot of confidence in Makau’s visionj and we have had long discussions abouft where he wants to take the school and we’re on the same page.” Recognizing the generosityh of Cellino and Barnes, the schooo has announced plans to name theirf main conference center, located in O’Briah Hall, The Cellino and Barnes Conference Center.
Asked what it feelds like to be in a position to giveaway $1 especially given the current economic Barnes put the gift into “Both Ross and I come from very humble beginnings and kind of worked our way up from the he said. “We startex out as just the twoof us, now, the practicd is a lucrative practice and I’m just glad we were able to help at a time that I thini is very critical to the law school.
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