UC Day of Giving begins with celebration of gift to Cincinnati Law

Glenn M. Weaver, BS ’43, MD ’45 spent his career focused on the intersection of law and psychiatry. A renowned leader in clinical and forensic psychiatry, such was his dedication that he founded the Weaver Institute for Law and Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1998.

The Weaver Foundation and his daughter Ellen Weaver, a trustee, is honoring the 20 years of the institute’s work and her father’s legacy with a $1 million gift from the Weaver Foundation.

“The work of the Institute is vital since together, forensic law and psychiatry can find answers and solutions,” Weaver said. “I’m proud to continue the work my father initiated. Getting to the root of problems was his vision, as well as providing specific legal knowledge. This can only be achieved through research and education.”

Thanks to Dr. Weaver’s forward-thinking gift, legal and mental health scholars have been able to work with Cincinnati Law students to study how psychiatry can help resolve legal matters and to explore social policies that impact both legal and mental health worlds.

The Weaver Institute provides a range of opportunities—classes, symposia and public lectures—for law students and legal professionals. It promotes the teaching and scholarship of forensic psychiatry as it prepares attorneys to deal with psychiatric evidence in court, from criminal adjudication and civil cases to correctional decision-making and legislation. Weaver Fellowships offer a stipend for law students and opportunities for scholarship through course work, seminars, lectures and community projects.

“The Weaver Institute helps make Cincinnati Law distinctive,” said Verna Williams, Dean and Nippert Professor of Law. “It provides valuable learning experiences for our students and prepares them for advancing justice and improving the human condition, a value shared by Dr. Weaver and Cincinnati Law. I’m grateful for this continued support that will benefit our students and the community.”

A tribute to the institute’s success and Dr. Weaver is the high-caliber students and faculty it attracts. A.J. Stephani, JD ’96, returned to Cincinnati Law to work in the Institute as its co-director. He teaches a Mental Health Law course and works with the Weaver Fellows. Co-director James Hunt, JD ’74, is a practicing attorney with an interest in mental health law. Hunt has taught Introduction to Law and Psychiatry for more than 25 years.

Olivia Luehrmann, JD ’16, a former Weaver Fellow, says the institute was a key factor in her decision to attend UC Law.

“My law school education would not have been the same without the Weaver Institute,” she said. “It is such a unique experience that very few law students are able to have across the nation.”

Dr. Weaver’s devotion to the community was at the core of his vision for the institute. He never ceased learning in his quest to help others. While maintaining his psychiatric practice, he became an adjunct professor, teaching Law and Psychiatry at Cincinnati Law. During this time, he continued to sharpen his knowledge by taking law classes, sometimes taking courses with his students. He worked until just three weeks before his death in October 2007 at the age of 86. 

Featured image at top: UC law students Photo/Chris Radcliffe/UC Foundation