Donors to the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School have established the Stanley A. Star ’61 and Elizabeth A. Star Rule of Law Fund, a new $1 million endowment that will support the Institute’s mission to protect and advance the rule of law and judicial independence within the United States and abroad.
The Star Rule of Law Fund was established by a major gift from David F. Levi, director emeritus of the Bolch Judicial Institute and the former dean of Duke Law School, and his wife, Nancy R. Ranney, as well as several additional contributions from Star family members and friends. After learning of the endowment’s creation during a birthday celebration, Stanley and Elizabeth Star also contributed to the fund.
The fund honors the Stars’ decades of generous support and service to Duke Law School. It also leverages a matching opportunity that will double the fund’s impact at the Bolch Institute under the terms of RaceTrac, Inc.’s $10 million matching gift announced last year.
“This remarkable gift is such a fitting tribute to Stanley and Elizabeth,” said Kerry Abrams, the James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean of the School of Law. “The Star Rule of Law Fund honors their deep and lasting impact on the Duke Law community and also provides essential support for the Bolch Judicial Institute’s mission to safeguard democratic institutions. Stanley and Elizabeth have given so much to Duke Law for so many years — this is a wonderful way to give something back to them.”
Donors to the Star Rule of Law Fund include:
- Elizabeth Hope Star
- David F. Levi and Nancy Ranney
- Peter J. and Deborah H. Kahn
- Richard J. and Shara Star
- Stephen B. and Susy Star
- Richard A. and Erica Hartman-Horvitz
- George R. and Susan N. Krouse
- Mark A. and Jill I. Fishman
- David W. and Janice D. Ichel
- Paul W. and Lynne Grimm
- Paul J. Pantano & Cheryl L. Keamy
- John R. Wester
“We are honored to join other philanthropic leaders and Duke Law School in creating a legacy gift to honor our father, Stanley Star,” said Elizabeth (Liz) Hope Star. “When we were asked to join this gift by former Duke Law Dean David Levi and Peter Kahn, we knew immediately that this was a way to invest in the future of the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law, and we couldn’t be prouder to do our part in furthering its important mission.”
Stanley Star is the former principal of Cliffstar Corp., which began as his family’s 19th-century Dunkirk, N.Y., winery. Under his leadership, the company became one of the country’s leading private-label juice manufacturers. Star is a member of the Law School’s Board of Visitors. He previously served as co-chair of the Law School’s Building Campaign Committee.
“Stanley and Elizabeth Star’s strategic philanthropy and generosity of spirit have left a lasting mark on all who know them, and particularly on those of us in the Duke Law community,” Levi said. “It is a testament to the Stars that the donors to this gift include those who admire them and know them best — their family and their close friends in the larger Duke Law family. The Star Rule of Law Fund honors the Stars’ legacy and continues their long history of support for legal education and legal institutions. I am so pleased that the Star name will be part of the Bolch Judicial Institute’s important work to defend, study, and advance the rule of law.”
Stanley Star made his first gift to Duke Law School in 1978, and since then the Stars have been extraordinary benefactors and inaugural members of The Star Circle, which recognizes individual donors with lifetime giving to Duke Law of $10 million or more. Their philanthropic spirit shines through their transformative contributions, including support for the construction of the Star Commons, a 4,200-square-foot atrium area that has become the heart of Duke Law School and a favorite location for study, socializing, and special events, and a series of financial aid and professorship matching gifts strategically aimed at galvanizing further donations from the school’s devoted alumni and friends. Other gifts have funded the Stanley A. Star Professorship of Law and Business, currently held by Steven A. Schwarcz, and the Star Scholarship, which provides financial support to students.
“The Stanley and Elizabeth Star Rule of Law Fund at the Bolch Judicial Institute will meaningfully advance our mission to strengthen and uphold the rule of law across the globe,” said Paul W. Grimm, the David F. Levi Professor of the Practice of Law and Director of the Bolch Judicial Institute. “As the rule of law faces new challenges globally, the Fund provides critical resources that will help us meet those challenges, with civic education programs, educational opportunities for sitting judges in the United States and around the world, and research and scholarship to support the judiciary. It’s a wonderful gift at just the right time, and we are deeply grateful to all who contributed.”
Peter Kahn, chair emeritus of the Bolch Judicial Institute Advisory Board, contributed along with his wife to the fund and was instrumental in organizing the surprise gift to Stanley and Elizabeth.
“The work of the Bolch Judicial Institute is so important to Debbie and me — especially at this time — and to be able raise funds for its critical work in the name of Stanley and Elizabeth Star, who are such close personal friends of ours and great benefactors of Duke Law School, made it all the more significant,” said Kahn, senior counsel at Williams & Connolly, a trustee emeritus of Duke University, and a member and past chair of the Duke Law Board of Visitors. “At a time when we need to raise $10 million in matching funds to receive the full benefit of the generous new $10 million gift from Carl and Susan Bolch and their company, RaceTrac, it was an ‘easy ask’ of those at Duke who support the rule of law to contribute to honor Stanley and Elizabeth, given how generous they have been over the years to Duke Law — to say nothing of their warm friendship with so many of us.”
About the Bolch Judicial Institute
Established in 2018 with a $10 million gift from Carl Bolch Jr. and Susan Bass Bolch, the Institute provides unique educational opportunities for sitting judges in the United States and around the globe; conducts research and supports teaching and scholarship; and develops civic education initiatives to advance its mission. Among the Institute’s flagship programs are the Master’s in Judicial Studies LLM program; Judicature, Duke’s scholarly journal on judging; conferences and seminars that bring together lawyers, judges, and scholars to examine challenges and develop solutions for improving and advancing the administration of justice; the Bolch Prize for the Rule of Law, which is awarded annually to an individual or organization who has demonstrated extraordinary dedication to the rule of law and advancing rule of law principles around the world; and the Raphael Lemkin Rule of Law Guardian medal, given annually to an individual who has contributed to the preservation and advancement of the rule of law.