Alfred Moses, L’56, H’13, Makes Historic $10 Million Gift to Support Public Interest Law Students

Ambassador Alfred Moses, L’56, H’13, a prominent Washington, D.C. attorney, philanthropist and a former U.S. Ambassador to Romania, has made a historic $10 million gift to Georgetown Law to fund scholarships and other support for students committed to pursuing careers in public service. Moses’ gift is the largest ever received by the Law Center to support scholarships.

Moses said that he hopes his gift will make it more financially feasible for students to take public interest jobs upon graduation. “There is a great need for public service in our country,” Moses said. “The private sector is very financially attractive to law graduates, but public service is so important for the future of our country. We need brilliant, dedicated, well-educated, well-trained people who will work for the public interest, even if they need to make a financial sacrifice to do it.”

Ambassador Alfred Moses, L’56 (Photo courtesy of Covington & Burling LLP)

A 1956 graduate of the Law Center, Moses served as a partner for 60 years at the law firm Covington & Burling LLP. He also held many roles in the U.S. government, serving as a special advisor and special counsel to President Jimmy Carter, U.S. Ambassador to Romania from 1994 to 1997, and Presidential Emissary for the Cyprus Conflict from 1999 to 2001. He served as National President of the American Jewish Committee from 1991 to 1994, and he received honorary doctorates from Yeshiva University and Georgetown University.

“Georgetown Law is proud to have trained so many of our country’s most accomplished and dedicated public interest lawyers and public servants,” said Dean William M. Treanor. “Ambassador Moses’ gift to Georgetown Law will enable us to build on that tradition even as recent events at the federal level threaten to raise even more barriers to public service. We are very grateful for his vision and generosity. As I conclude my time as dean at the end of this month, I can’t think of a gift that would mean more to me because it will do so much to help us advance Georgetown’s mission of educating people ‘in the service of others.’”

Moses’s honorary degree citation from Georgetown, presented by then-President John J. DeGioia, stated that the degree was given “for the integrity with which he has conducted his life and career, and for contributions to our country and our global family.” Now, as he establishes this contribution for public service scholarships, Moses said, “I believe that President DeGioia’s stewardship of Georgetown, with its emphasis on service to others and in the public interest, will stand as an unmatched accomplishment in higher education.”

Moses’ gift will serve as the cornerstone for a newly established Public Interest Scholars Program Endowed Fund. Through the fund, the Law Center hopes to offer scholarships and other support to students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to public interest work.

“We hope we can build a fund of $50 million so that over time, we can have many hundreds of graduates committed to public service as a career – anything from a firefighter to the president of the United States,” said Moses.

Georgetown Law has long had a remarkable record of launching graduates in public interest careers. In recent years, more than one in five Georgetown Law graduates have gone onto public service jobs upon graduation, more than from any other top law school. The Law Center has developed numerous entry-level fellowships for aspiring public interest attorneys and supports the nation’s largest public interest-specific advising office to place students and alumni in public service.

Moses, who attended Georgetown Law as an evening student while serving as a U.S. Naval officer in the 1950s, said he feels a strong kinship to his law alma mater. “I have very fond memories of the professors, the coursework, and great friends,” he recalled. “It’s where I learned to love the law. It was a wonderful experience.”