Suffolk University has such a strong history of graduating students who go on to careers in public service that the Massachusetts legislature could almost be called a chapter of the Suffolk alumni association. And with a historic $5 million commitment to Suffolk, Jerry and Phyllis Rappaport and the Jerome Lyle Rappaport Charitable Foundation have ensured that this tradition of service will carry on far into the future.

The gift’s broad reach and ambitious goals will rest on a partnership between a family with a dedicated to civic life in Massachusetts and a University committed to nurturing graduates who go on to serve the common good. It will establish the Jerome Lyle Rappaport Center for Law & Public Service at Suffolk Law and will fund a professorship  in Law and Public Policy—the first endowed chair in the University’s history.

Moreover, the gift will permanently support the Rappaport Fellows Program in Law & Public Policy, which has been hosted at Suffolk since 2000 to enable gifted law students from six area law schools to spend a summer working with top public policymakers on key issues.

But although the gift is starting with Suffolk, the true recipients are the communities of New England. “Suffolk University has an outstanding record of producing graduates who engage in public policy work in legislatures, courthouses, and city and town halls across New England, says Phyllis Rappaport, the Foundation chairperson. “The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service will provide greater opportunities for young people to positively influence Boston and Massachusetts.”

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