Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program
Background
New York University’s motto—“a private university in the public service”—is a charge that the Law School takes very seriously. As one part of this commitment, the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program, founded in 1951, provides full tuition and other support to nurture leaders in public service.
The Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program was originally named in honor of Elihu Root (Class of 1867) and Samuel J. Tilden (Class of 1841), two alumni who epitomize the tradition of public service. The indictment of the powerful New York City “Boss” Tweed in 1871 marked the beginning of a political drama in which Root and Tilden played leading, and opposite, roles. Samuel J. Tilden led the Citizens Committee of Seventy that combatted the notorious Tweed Ring. Tilden’s successful prosecution of the Ring would propel him to a sweeping gubernatorial victory and later to within one electoral vote of the Presidency.
At the age of 26, Elihu Root was a junior member of a distinguished defense team representing Boss Tweed. Root subsequently became a United States Attorney in New York, Secretary of War under President McKinley, and Secretary of State under President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1912, Root received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to international law.
In 1998, then Dean John Sexton announced a precedent-setting gift of $5 million from an alumnus of the Root-Tilden Scholarship, Jerome H. Kern ’60, that began a major capital campaign to raise $30 million for the Program. To honor Mr. Kern’s generous contribution, the Law School renamed the Program as the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program. Mr. Kern is the Chairman of Symphony Media Systems, LLC, and was formerly a senior partner of the law firm Baker & Botts. In 2004, under the leadership of Dean Richard Revesz, the Law School successfully completed its campaign goal of $30 million and now offers full-tuition scholarships to 20 students each year.
The Root-Tilden-Kern Graduates
The first class of Root-Tilden Scholars graduated from NYU School of Law in 1954. The members of that class and subsequent classes have shown a diversity of professional interests and have become leaders of public service, community affairs, and politics.
In this sixth decade of the Program, it is clear that the Program has proved the public service premise on which it was founded. More than one-third of our alumni/ae have served in government at some point in their careers. Many graduates have worked with legal services, nonprofit advocacy organizations, public defenders, and prosecutors’ offices. In addition, some are employed in law school teaching or administration, or serve as judges or partners in public interest law firms. Each year a substantial number of graduating Scholars serve as clerks to federal and state judges.
Program Overview and Major Obligations of Root-Tilden-Kern Scholars
The Root-Tilden-Kern Program is intended to supplement, not to replace, the normal curriculum at the Law School. The Program features an overnight orientation, monthly dinner meetings, and social activities throughout the year, and Scholars are expected to participate fully in these events. In addition, first-year Scholars are required to attend the weekly Leaders in Public Interest Series, open to the NYU School of Law community, at which a wide spectrum of public interest lawyers from around the country discuss public service and meet in small groups with Scholars and other students. In the summer after their first year, Scholars complete a ten-week summer internship. This internship, supported by a stipend, enables students to integrate the practical experience of full-time work with a government agency or public interest law organization with his or her formal legal training. A second internship is required either during the second or third school year or during the second summer. Students also perform administrative responsibilities not listed here and are required to maintain a “B” average.
The Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship is awarded to students who intend to pursue careers in public service. NYU defines public service broadly to include employment with U.S. or international non-profit organizations, government (including judicial clerkships), law schools, and law firms whose primary mission is serving the public interest or under-represented clients. Most students do, in fact, enter public service after graduation. Those Scholars who, for the first ten years following graduation, work in public service will have no obligation to repay their scholarships. They are, however, expected to demonstrate their support for the Program by making contributions to the extent they are able to do so. Scholars who do not pursue careers in public service law for each of at least ten years following graduation are morally obligated to repay their scholarship.