An Enduring Ethos of Learning

Richard J. Evans '72 Endows a Scholarship in Memory of His Parents

Richard J. Evans

As a teenager, Richard J. Evans recalls his father—a high school graduate with a keen interest in law—would often read and discuss New York State court cases with his youngest son.

"Though he was unschooled, he was very intelligent, very clever, very quick," Dick says. "My parents were both from immigrant families and never had the opportunity to go on to higher education. They were children of the Depression, and in those lean years, high school was the end of the road for formal education. "

His parents, Murray and Adeline Evans, ran dry-cleaning plants in Buffalo and Rochester and emphasized the value of higher education to their three sons.

Now a partner in the Rochester, N.Y., law firm Evans & Fox, LLP, Dick recently made a gift to honor their memory. His legacy gift of $100,000 to the UB Law School will support scholarships for students in financial need.

"It felt right to acknowledge how indebted I feel for having received my education at the Law School and to offer this gesture on behalf of my mom and dad," he says.

Dick says he continues to learn and grow professionally, and he recently became a certified federal court mediator. "For daily mental stimulation and constant growth and development, I believe there's no career like law," he says.

He recalls the professors who fed his passion in the Class of '72, the last to spend three years at the Law School's Eagle Street location.

"Men like Adolf Homburger teaching civil procedure, Joseph Laufer analyzing tort principles of liability, and W. Howard Mann leading us through the maze of constitutional law; these were the academic superstars."

Having sat on the Dean's Advisory Council at the Law School, Dick has enjoyed watching his alma mater grow.

"I'm very impressed with the quality of the professors being hired," he says. "No greater thanks can be offered than to know the next generation of outstanding legal minds will be our local and national legacy."

To learn how you can leave a legacy at the University at Buffalo, please contact Wendy Irving, Esq. at (877) 825-3422 or dev-pg@buffalo.edu.