The UGA School of Law has received a $500,000 gift to create the Stacey Godfrey Evans Scholarship for first-generation college graduates attending Georgia Law. The gift is the first of its kind, and it was made by Georgia Law alumna and state Rep. Stacey Godfrey Evans. The first Evans Scholar is expected to be named this fall.
“This level of contribution from a single individual has the power to change the lives of future students,” said Georgia Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge. “Leadership giving of this nature can make the difference between a student’s ability to attend law school or having to give up that dream. This investment demonstrates Stacey’s faith in Georgia Law, in the quality legal education we provide and in the young men and women who are following in her footsteps.
“I am very thankful for her loyalty and support,” Rutledge also said. “She is a true example of the law school’s mission to instill in our graduates a commitment of service to our state and nation.”
Evans said her education at UGA has had a profound impact on her life, and her recent involvement with the representation of whistleblowers in a lawsuit against DaVita Healthcare Partners, a dialysis chain, aided her ability to make a contribution to her alma mater.
“I cannot—and do not want to—imagine my life without my degrees, and I know how close I was to being without them,” Evans said. “The financial resources simply weren’t there. I felt like I was constantly living on the edge of my financial ability to stay in school.
“With this gift, I hope to take some of the financial stress off of the shoulders of bright and accomplished students who are shooting beyond expectations and working to obtain their law degrees,” she also said. “And more than the dollars, I hope the scholarship serves as a signal to students breaking their family molds that they are valued and not only wanted, but sought after, at Georgia Law.”
Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2010, Evans currently serves on the Rules, Appropriations, Judiciary, Juvenile Justice and Interstate Cooperation committees.
