College of Law

$1 Million Planned Gift Honors Toledo Law Alumna

February 15, 2019

William P. Short III has made a commitment through the Heritage Oak Society with a generous $1 million planned gift to The University of Toledo College of Law to honor the life and memory of his late wife and Toledo Law alumna, Nancy Jean Fulop Short '71. Through the Nancy Jean Fulop Short Scholarship at The University of Toledo College of Law, his gift will provide annually three full-tuition, merit-based scholarships.

His wife received her JD degree from The University of Toledo College of Law in 1971 after majoring in English literature and minoring in art at Mary Manse College in Toledo. Subsequently, she was graduated by Yale Law School with an LLM degree. After a 35-year career in teaching, securities law and legal publishing, Nancy decided to go back to school at the New York School of Interior Design to pursue a career track that combined her passion for art, design and the law.

Mr. Short understands the impact that education and full scholarships made on his wife's life. Scholarships from high school through graduate law school enabled her to attend these institutions since neither she nor her parents were able to afford the tuition. As important, these scholarships enabled her to attend and, in the case of her parents for Nancy's parochial high school and college, to graduate these institutions debt-free.

Mr. Short intends to fund equivalent scholarship opportunities to students at his wife's other alma maters by establishing three additional $1 million planned gifts in her memory at St. Ursula Academy here in Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art (since Mary Manse College no longer exists) and Yale Law School. Each planned gift will be used to fund full tuition, merit-based scholarships at these institutions. Previously, he endowed the Nancy Short Award at the New York School of Interior Design.

"By The College of Law providing Nancy with a full scholarship, it enabled my wife to transform herself from a high school English literature and art teacher to a law school professor then a securities lawyer," said Short. "The College of Law offered my wife the opportunity to achieve her goals that otherwise were beyond her financial means. It is my goal that over a hundred young aspiring attorneys will be able to matriculate as a result of this gift and, in turn, realize their dreams."

"It is wonderful that Bill was able to honor Nancy's legacy in this way," said Toledo Law Dean D. Benjamin Barros. "Nancy was an extraordinarily accomplished law student and alumna. Bill's generosity will allow the College of Law to attract outstanding students and give them the opportunities that Nancy had for a wonderful education and career."

Read more about Nancy's life and story in Toledo Law's Fall 2018 Transcript alumni magazine.