Grant of $10 Million from Hewlett Foundation Will Support The China Law Center of Yale Law School

New Haven, Conn. — The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has announced that it will donate $10 million to support The China Law Center of Yale Law School for five years.

“We are delighted that the Hewlett Foundation has agreed to make this extraordinary commitment to strengthen and expand The China Law Center’s efforts to help advance the rule of law and related policy reforms in China,” said Dean Harold Hongju Koh of Yale Law School. “This level of support is unprecedented in the field of Chinese legal studies and legal reform and affirms the Center’s key role in the life of an increasingly global Yale Law School. This grant guarantees that Yale Law School will continue as the leading center of thinking and understanding regarding a country of surpassing importance, which enjoys deep historical ties with our university.”

From its inception in 1999, The China Law Center has focused on designing and carrying out in-depth cooperative projects between U.S. and Chinese experts on key issues of Chinese law and policy reform. In interaction with its teaching and research missions, the Center also works to strengthen the capacity of reformers in China, partnering with a range of Chinese institutions such as law schools, courts, administrative agencies and non-governmental organizations.

The grant, which will provide general support to the Center’s programs over five years, is among the largest foundation grants ever made to a Yale Law School program.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to build on what we have accomplished in the past few years,” said Law School alumnus Paul Gewirtz, the Center’s founder and director and the Potter Stewart Professor of Constitutional Law. “We hope to continue to find ways to contribute to China’s reform process and to a better understanding of China in the United States.”

“The China Law Center is a key part of the University’s effort to promote work related to China at Yale and to be a leader in cooperative research and exchanges that can make a positive contribution to China’s development,” added Yale President Richard C. Levin .

Hewlett Foundation President Paul Brest said supporting the evolution of China’s legal system is invaluable to the country’s emergence on the world stage. “Helping China improve its legal system furthers an array of goals, from supporting civil rights and civil liberties to increasing China’s effectiveness in business,” Brest said. “It’s of global importance for China to have the best possible legal system. The Foundation is proud to help with this effort.”

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, one of the nation’s largest, with assets of more than $8 billion, makes grants to address the most serious social and environmental problems facing society. The Foundation concentrates its resources on activities in education, environment, global development, performing arts and population.