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Stanley A. Star Pledges $3 Million

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Durham N.C. — Business executive Stanley A. Star and the Star Family Foundation have pledged $3 million to support building renovations and construction projects now underway at Duke Law School, Dean Katharine T. Bartlett announced Thursday.

The law school's atrium, to be constructed next year, is expected to be named the Star Atrium.

"Stanley Star's contributions of service and resources to Duke Law School have been exemplary," Bartlett said. "He and his family have provided much needed funds for faculty enhancement and student scholarships, and now their $3 million gift will benefit generations of students, faculty and staff through improved facilities at the school."

A member of the law school’s Class of 1961, Star is the principal of Cliffstar Corporation, headquartered in Dunkirk, N.Y., a private label juice manufacturer. He is a longstanding member of the law school's advisory board, the Board of Visitors, and also serves on the Board of Advisors of the Global Capital Markets Center, a joint initiative of the law school and the Fuqua School of Business. He is also co-chair, with alumni Al Adams and David Ichel, of the law school's new Building Campaign Committee.

Previous gifts by Star and his wife, Elizabeth, who reside in Naples, FL, have funded the law school’s Stanley A. Star Professorship in business law and the Star Scholarship.

Star's gift represents one-third of the $9 million raised to date for building renovation and new construction projects at the law school. The school has a $15 million fund-raising goal for the projects, which include expanded and updated classrooms and a new 25,000-square-foot addition to accommodate faculty offices, program centers and journal offices and alleviate overcrowding in the current building.

According to Bartlett, construction of the Star Atrium will commence in May 2005, transforming the school's current outdoor courtyard into a beautiful indoor space that will become the true heart of the school, with an attractive café and multiple student meeting spaces and lounge areas.

"We hear from our students and faculty that Duke's reputation for collegiality and collaboration is a key reason they choose to come here," she said. "The Star Atrium will enhance the life of our community immeasurably."

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For more information about the Law School's building projects, please visit www.law.duke.edu.