The Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School has received a $5 million grant from The Duke Endowment. This new support will strengthen the Master of Judicial Studies program, expand judicial education programming to address emerging issues such as the impact of artificial intelligence on litigation and court administration, support new research and collaboration with judges and judicial institutions, and broaden teaching and civic education initiatives about the courts and the judicial branch.
This is the second substantial grant from The Duke Endowment to support judicial studies at Duke Law School. The Endowment contributed $5 million in 2013 to what was then called the Center for Judicial Studies to help launch judicial education programs. The center became the Bolch Judicial Institute in 2018 with a $10 million naming gift from Carl Bolch Jr. J.D.’67 and Susan Bass Bolch. In 2024, the Bolch family’s company, RaceTrac, pledged to match up to an additional $10 million in new gifts to the institute over 10 years. This new award from the Endowment will unlock $5 million of these matching funds. An additional $3.1 million in gifts have already qualified for that RaceTrac match.
We are deeply grateful to The Duke Endowment and the Bolch family for this extraordinary investment in Duke and in the future of the judiciary,” said Duke President Vincent E. Price. “This endowment reinforces Duke’s commitment to building a lasting collaboration between the academy and the judiciary that will advance the rule of law for generations to come.”
The institute’s scholarship, teaching, and research have established it as the foremost center of academic study of the judiciary and judging. Through the Master of Judicial Studies program, the Bolch Institute has nurtured a growing group of scholar-judges who have studied emerging law and judicial institutions, deepened practical skills, and, through their thesis projects, developed important insight and research into the work of judges.
“The institute is singular in its ability to address emerging educational needs within a judiciary that is experiencing historic levels of strain,” said Duke Law Dean Kerry Abrams. “This award — together with the matching gifts from RaceTrac and others — will provide the resources and capacity we need to firmly establish Duke’s role as the leader, convenor, and driving force in a global collaboration of the academy and legal profession to study and implement meaningful and lasting improvements in the administration of justice.”
A range of Bolch Institute educational programs, conferences, workshops, courses, podcasts, and publications have guided judges, lawyers, scholars, students, and the public toward a deeper understanding of the critical role of the judiciary in our constitutional republic; the day-to-day work of a judge; and the values of impartiality, integrity, equality, and justice that underpin the rule of law.
“The Bolch Judicial Institute provides distinctive educational opportunities that help judges do their jobs better, improve our understanding of the judicial branch, and meaningfully strengthen our nation’s judicial culture of fair-mindedness, independence, and devotion to the law,” said Kimberly Mueller, David F. Levi Professor of the Practice of Law and director of the Bolch Judicial Institute. “We are so appreciative that The Duke Endowment and the Bolch family support these important goals, which are foundational to the rule of law.”
The Duke Endowment award, along with matching funds from RaceTrac, will enable Duke Law and the institute to fully endow the Master of Judicial Studies program, expand judicial seminars, and ensure the continued publication of Judicature, the premier journal on judging and the rule of law. A cornerstone of academic and judicial exchange, the journal mails to state and federal judges in the United States and reaches a broad public audience — including international judges — online. These new funds also will expand the institute’s pilot civic education initiative to boost public outreach on issues relating to courts and will support efforts to foster and amplify academic exploration of the courts and democratic institutions through research grants and fellowships for faculty and students.
To ensure the institute’s capacity to continue to invest in its most successful programs and support strategic growth in the years ahead, The Duke Endowment grant allows up to $2 million to be made available to match and incentivize new endowment gifts to the institute.
“We’re proud to sustain and expand our support of the Bolch Judicial Institute and Duke Law School,” said Charles C. Lucas III J.D. ’90, chair of The Duke Endowment Board of Trustees. “We know that our judiciary must continually learn, adapt and grow, and that meaningful engagement between the academy and the profession is essential to advancing excellence in the courts.”
Based in Charlotte and established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke, The Duke Endowment is a private foundation that strengthens communities in North Carolina and South Carolina by nurturing children, promoting health, educating minds and enriching spirits. Since its founding, it has distributed more than $5 billion in grants. The Endowment shares a name with Duke University and Duke Energy, but all are separate organizations.