Matching gifts from West Virginia University alumni Bob and Kim Skaggs (from left) and WVU College of Law supporters Susan Striar May and Stuart May are expanding social justice-focused opportunities for students.
West Virginia University supporters across the country are expanding opportunities for College of Law students from underrepresented groups to gain real-world experience in social justice work via two gifts totaling $100,000.
WVU alumni Bob and Kim Skaggs contributed $50,000 to support the Social Justice in Professional Law Practice Award. Their gift secured a $50,000 donation from former College of Law Visiting Committee member Stuart May and wife Susan Striar May, who previously pledged to match gifts up to that amount.
Those funds, combined with contributions from founding donor Ellen Archibald, will provide stipends for College of Law students completing internships in public service or with public interest organizations in West Virginia. Preference goes to minority students – specifically Black, Indigenous and people of color – working in unpaid positions.
“Transformative gifts like these enable our College of Law students to affordably engage in public interest and public service work as part of their training to become a legal professional,” said Amelia Smith Rinehart, William J. Maier, Jr. Dean for the College of Law. “This is an incredible opportunity to recruit and retain students from underrepresented groups who will contribute different and expansive perspectives to their clients and communities as lawyers in West Virginia. We are so grateful to Ellen, Bob and Kim, and Stuart and Susan for their generous gifts in support of our students’ work and the impact it will have throughout the state.”
The Mays’ gift stems from their longtime friendship with Archibald, whom they met after moving to Charleston, West Virginia, in the late 1970s. The couple hails from New York, where their work in disability services brought them together and led them to the Mountain State. Stuart May enrolled at the Antioch School of Law a few years later, and Archibald followed his example when she attended the WVU College of Law in the late 1980s.
Although the Mays did not attend the University, they began following WVU sports after moving to West Virginia and still consider the Mountain State home despite relocating to Florida. Archibald deepened their connection to WVU by introducing Stuart May to former Provost and College of Law Dean Joyce McConnell, who also graduated from Antioch School of Law.
Stuart May said he hopes their gift ultimately helps to provide more legal support for people in need, particularly those with developmental disabilities.
“By providing stipends to individuals who want to go into that area, to help them get internships working with attorneys who are carrying that flag, maybe we’ll have more attorneys with greater conscience. That’s the social justice side,” May said. “On the public interest side, it’s for the same reason. We need more people who are going to go into public interest law, whether they work for judges or nonprofits. It may not carry the same type of fiscal remuneration, but what you get out of it is worth more than you could ever make.”
Stuart May got involved with disability services after serving in the U.S. Army and later worked in finance after finishing law school.
Susan Striar May’s lifelong passion for developmental disability services was fueled by her late brother, who had Down syndrome. She spent the bulk of her career working for the Council on Quality and Leadership, which offers accreditation, training, certification, research and consultation to improve the quality of life and services for individuals with developmental disabilities.
While the Skaggs have never met Archibald or the Mays, they share a common interest in social justice. Kim Skaggs, in particular, devoted much of her law career to human rights cases and continues to work with social justice organizations in retirement. She serves on several nonprofit boards, including Reprieve US and Legal Action Chicago. She is also involved in the pro bono representation of a death row inmate and volunteers as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) in Los Angeles.
“My wife has always been public interest-oriented, particularly in social justice,” Bob Skaggs said. “She has really driven my interest in it; it was her passion surrounding these issues. We just are interested in giving people a fair shot. If they do have an issue or a problem, I think they need a fair shot at dealing with those issues and having them resolved in a fair manner. So, that’s the driving philosophy.”
Although the Skaggs now live in Los Angeles, the couple was eager to give back to the tri-state region – including West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio – they call home. Bob Skaggs grew up in Montgomery, West Virginia, and worked for Columbia Gas, its affiliates and parent company NiSource during his business career. He remains engaged in the energy industry as a board member for DTE Energy and chairman of the board for DT Midstream.
Kim Skaggs is from Uniontown, Pennsylvania. She earned her undergraduate degree from WVU, where the couple met as students, and attended law school at The Ohio State University.
The couple also appreciated the matching opportunity to help build momentum for a growing effort led by passionate people such as the Mays and Archibald, who resides in Minneapolis. She previously noted that many law students who want to work in public service or with public interest nonprofits cannot afford to take unpaid internships, yet West Virginia public service and public interest employers often cannot afford to pay them.
“An internship helps a student begin to find a network,” Archibald said. “It helps you find out, ‘what do people really do once they graduate with the degree that I’m pursuing.’ I was able to live because I was paid for my summer work as a law student. I didn’t get rich on it, but I was there to work and to learn, which I did. I would like to help someone else get the advantage of learning on the inside even before graduating and jumping into the deep end.”
Prospective donors interested in supporting the Social Justice in Professional Law Practice Award can contact Bob Wetzel, WVU Foundation director of planned giving, at 304-284-4083 or bwetzel@wvuf.org to learn more. All gifts are made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.