$10 Million Donated To WSU Law School Honoring Outgoing Dean Jocelyn Benson

DETROIT (WWJ) - A multi-million dollar gift to Wayne State University's Law School in honor of its outgoing dean was announced Monday.

Real estate developers, professional sports team owners and alumni Stephen M. Ross and Dan Gilbert announced their intentions to donate $5 million each to Wayne State University Law School, for a joint gift of $10 million in honor of the outgoing dean of law, Jocelyn Benson.

"We've really bucked the trend, in part because Detroit's sexy -- people want to come here, but also people want to study in a city with this history and with a law school that is part of that city," Benson tells WWJ's legal analyst Charlie Langton.

Ross and Gilbert's gifts will create the Benson Legacy Fund for Wayne Law and the Benson Endowed Enhancement Fund for Wayne Law.

A statement from WSU says Benson is being honored for her successful efforts to elevate the law school's national reputation and prestige.

Both gifts represent the largest donations in the law school's history.

Benson is taking a job as CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality -- a new venture in professional sports to improve race relations in America.