ASU Law students successfully endow scholarship, help future Federalist Society students

The newly endowed James Madison Scholarship is the first of its kind and will recognize and encourage outstanding ASU Law Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies student leadership.

The scholarship will support a second- or third-year student enrolled full time at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law who is also a member of the Federalist Society. The recipient will also have expressed a financial need and exhibited a desire to promote awareness of the Federalist Society’s founding principles.

The scholarship was conceived by Grant Frazier, who graduated this past week from ASU Law with a Juris Doctor degree. As a student at ASU Law, Frazier served as president of the Federalist Society ASU Law chapter and as the chair for the 2019 National Federalist Society Student Symposium, which took place in March 2019.

“ASU Law FedSoc programming, as well as the invaluable intellectual forum it facilitates, greatly augments the in-class legal education provided by ASU Law’s renowned faculty. Such efforts require a great deal of time and effort by student leaders,” Frazier said. “The James Madison Scholarship will recognize the work of these student leaders and the critical contributions they make to the ASU Law community, and the greater Phoenix legal community more generally.”

Stacy Skankey, who also graduated this past week from ASU Law with a Juris Doctor degree, has a strong desire to help her fellow students. From her time serving as vice president of the ASU Federalist Society, she learned firsthand the importance of seeking opportunities for professional development. She was also one of the first donors to the James Madison Scholarship.

“I donated because it is important to me to help students with similar fundamental values and ideals find forums for intellectual discussion. The financial aid that the scholarship provides will allow the recipient to worry less about finances and devote more time towards the attainment of his/her academic and professional goals,” Skankey said. “Student members of the Federalist Society tend to be prominent leaders on campus, who are intellectually curious, driven and devoted to the communities for which they serve. It is my hope that my donation supports student leaders who exemplify these qualities and encourage additional, future students to aspire to such leadership."

Staying ahead while giving back

Grant Frazier, JD '19. As a student at ASU Law, Frazier served as president of the Federalist Society ASU Law chapter and as the chair for the 2019 National Federalist Society Student Symposium.

Currently, of the 42 donors to the James Madison Scholarship, 36 are first-time donors to Arizona State University. Furthermore, approximately half of them are current students.

“Students giving back as students shows just how important a scholarship like ours is to the student community,” said Frazier. “It is an honor to call so many of our new donors my friends, and it is encouraging to see them become philanthropists early in their legal careers.”

The original fundraising goal for the scholarship was $25,000 in order to obtain endowment status. Since the scholarship has met and exceeded that goal, students and alumni wish to see the goal increased to provide additional scholarships to students.

The first James Madison Scholarship will be awarded to a student as they start the fall 2020 semester at ASU Law. At current levels, the scholarship award will be approximately $1,000 to $1,250. The goal for the students who launched the James Madison Scholarship was to reach an endowment level around $750,000 which would provide a full-ride scholarship for a deserving student leader.

“My goal is to fundraise for this scholarship every year to continue to grow the fund and therefore increase the amount awarded every year. While we will set incremental goals, the next big goal is to reach the amount necessary to provide a full scholarship,” Frazier said. “This is going to take some heavy lifting, but I believe over time a significant number of alumni will become donors.”

Assist future law students by donating to the James Madison Scholarship.

If you would like to make a multiyear pledge commitment, please contact Terri Burkel at ASU Law at [email protected] or 480-965-5329.