A new endowed professorship at the University of Wisconsin Law School will honor the memory of an alumnus and his wife, while supporting faculty work. The John and Rylla Bosshard Professorship was formed to recognize and support a UW Law professor who has significant stature in the legal academy.
An endowed professorship distributes income annually in perpetuity to support faculty salary and research. Dean Tokaji says this professorship will support the school’s mission to attract and retain world-class faculty. “The Bosshard Professorship will help us build on the legacy of excellence in research and teaching for which this great law school is known. It signifies an important link from UW Law’s past to its present and future.”
John Bosshard, a 1947 UW Law graduate, was a prominent lawyer, banker, and businessman from Bangor, Wisconsin. In his honor, his four adult children — Sabina, John III, Kurt, and Bill Bosshard — donated funds from their parents’ estate to endow the professorship.
Sabina Bosshard, a 1973 UW Law School graduate, took over the practice of her father’s firm after his death in 1990.
A matching gift from UW alumni John and Tashia Morgridge made the endowment possible. In 2020, the Morgridges announced a one-for-one matching opportunity to donors wanting to establish or enhance an endowed professorship or chair fund.
“Endowments are gifts that truly last forever,” says Tokaji. “On behalf of all of us at UW Law School, I want to thank the Bosshard and Morgridge families for their continued dedication to our Law School and the UW. I am humbled and inspired by their faith in the value of our work and their generous investment in the future of generations of Badgers.”