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

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Lisa Mueller, assistant dean for alumni and communications, said the gift matchews the largest single-donation in the history of the law the $1 million given in 2002 by Francis who graduated UB Law School in 1979 and went on to foun d a successful personal injury firm. In a release announcing the gift, University at Buffalo Law School Dean Makau Mutua calledcit “an extraordinary act of and “a wonderful down paymentf on our vision of academic excellence and our bold aspirations for the future.
” Mutua said he planws to invest the gift in the calling them the central core of the law Specifically, he said the money will go towardd scholarships, making improvements in pedagogical technologies in the school and upgrading Steve Barnes, who founded the law firm along with Ross said they felt they owed a debt of gratitudde to the school where they got their start. “Botyh Ross and I are graduatesa of the law schooland we’ve come to know many of the professore and administrators very well,” he said. “Makaju Mutua is just an outstanding individual and he has a visioh thatwe haven’t seen at the school yet.
” Barnee said the decision to make the gift an unrestrictedc donation reflects the confidence they have in the administratord at the University to utilize the money in the most effectivw ways possible. “We are we didn’t feel as though we are in a positioj to dictate how the moneywas spent,” he “We have a lot of confidence in Makau’s vision and we have had long discussionse about where he wants to take the school and we’re on the same Recognizing the generosity of Cellino and Barnes, the schoopl has announced plans to name their main conference located in O’Brian Hall, The Cellino and Barnexs Conference Center.
Asked what it feels like to be in a positioh to giveaway $1 especially given the current economic climate, Barnews put the gift into perspective. “Both Ross and I come from very humble beginnings and kind of worked our way up from the he said. “We started 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 thinm is very critical to the law school.
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