The School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) and the Law School are working to endow a graduate fund for students enrolled in the schools' dual-degree program.

The Joseph L. Sax Graduate and Professional Student Fund honors the career of Professor Sax, a world-renowned environmental law expert. He taught at the University of Michigan from 1966-86. The schools already have an annual award named after Professor Sax that recognizes the program's top graduating student.

Professor Sax's writings on the public trust doctrine and "takings" have frequently been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and remain definitive in the field. He is often called the "father" of environmental law and advocacy.

He developed the idea of citizen enforcement of environmental laws in his 1970 landmark book, Defending the Environment: A Strategy for Citizen Action. He worked as a policy advocate and legislative draftsman to turn this concept into practice in the "citizen suit" provisions of several federal environmental laws and in the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, popularly known as the "Sax Act."

A distinguished and honorary committee is leading the campaign to endow this fund by the end of the Michigan Difference Campaign (Dec. 31, 2008). Committee co-chairs are Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior; Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund; and former governor and first lady of Michigan, the Honorable William G. and Helen Milliken.

Donations are matched 1:2 by the U-M Office of the President. The committee has set a goal of $500,000 over five years. Through this fund, the schools will recruit and support top students interested in environmental policy and law careers. Five students are currently pursuing J.D. and M.S. degrees through the program, established in 1974, and both SNRE and the Law School hope to grow it further. The program encourages more-effective integration of knowledge of natural resources and environmental problems with the methodology and skills of the lawyer. Students generally complete both degrees in four years.

For more information, please contact Ann Boyd-Stewart, SNRE director of development and alumni relations, at 734.615.0315 or aboydst@umich.edu.