DU’s Sturm College of Law recently received a $3 million gift to develop its international law curriculum.

This is one of the largest gifts to create a program in the law school’s history. The funds are earmarked for the founding of the Roche Family International Business Transactions Program.

The gift, which consists of both future and outright cash commitments, was given by the Roche Family Foundation and Robert W. Roche. Roche is a 1988 DU law school graduate and his brother, Ed Roche, currently works as an Associate Dean of Budget & Planning and is a professor at the law school.

The donation will form the foundation for creating a post-Juris Doctorate degree program in International Business Transactions, and the funds will be specifically used towards scholarships, faculty recruitment and program support. The program will be housed in the current law building alongside the law school’s other degree programs.

“Our goal is to make this program one of the top five in the country,” said Eric Lundstedt, Executive Director of Development for the Sturm College of Law.

Lundstedt said that the program will complement the College of Law’s existing nationally recognized programs in International Law and Corporate Law.

Although it is still unknown when the program will officially launch, the first class will probably be small, starting with 10 to 20 students and scaling from there.

Lundstedt also expressed hopes that the new program may offer the opportunity to partner with other key portions of DU’s academic arms, such as the Korbel School of International Studies and Daniel’s College of Business.

“The exciting thing about this gift is its demonstration that our alumni believe in the vision for the school set forth by Dean Katz,” Lundstedt said.