University of Cincinnati college to become Donald P. Klekamp College of Law

The University of Cincinnati College of Law will be rededicated as the Donald P. Klekamp College of Law at the University of Cincinnati. The naming of the college was inspired by a $43.2 million gift from the Klekamp family, in honor of their father, Donald Klekamp, JD ’57. The gift will be pledged over time to support four core areas within the college, including a robust scholarship program, experiential learning, student success and the Corporate Law Center. 

The UC Board of Trustees approved the college’s new name at a special meeting today, following a recommendation presented by UC President Neville Pinto. 

“Today’s action by the Board of Trustees marks a defining moment for the University of Cincinnati and our College of Law,” said UC President Neville G. Pinto. “The Klekamp family’s extraordinary generosity honors Donald Klekamp’s legacy while strengthening our ability to prepare the next generation of talented legal minds. This investment advances our mission, expands opportunity for our students and positions the college for even greater national impact.”

“I consider myself very lucky, and my sisters do as well, to have them as our parents,” said Peter Klekamp. “They instilled in us many traits that have helped us to succeed—honesty, hard work, giving back. We were loved.”

Peter Klekamp describes his father as “a man of high ethics, a man who acted with extreme urgency for his clients and his family, a true role model. A man who is a man for others.” 

He shared that his father views the naming as “a tremendous honor.”

Jody Klekamp shared by saying “My father is the very definition of a hard-working and devoted man—a loving husband, a steady and guiding father and a respected founder whose impact reached far beyond his profession. Through his dedication, integrity and quiet strength, he earned the admiration of so many in the community. But to me, he is more than all of that—he is a constant source of inspiration, showing by example what it means to live with purpose, lead with kindness and give your all to the people and values that matter most.” 

The Klekamp family gift is the largest in the College of Law’s nearly 200-year history. Established in 1833, the deeply storied institution is the fourth-oldest continuously operating law school in the country. 

Among its graduates are general counsel at America’s largest corporations, public interest leaders and prominent legislative, executive and judicial leaders operating at the upper echelons of state and federal government. 

Within its walls, some of America's brightest legal minds have produced innovative and impactful work—from Champ Clark and Nicholas Longworth, who both served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to Charles Dawes, vice president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, to U.S. President and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft.

The College of Law is a living expression of UC’s strategic vision, Next Lives Here, and the momentum speaks for itself. 

Over the past several years, UC Law's bar passage numbers have consistently exceeded the state average and ranked among the strongest in Ohio, and its graduates are among the most practice-ready in the country—more than 95% of students engage in real-world, credit-bearing experiences in courthouses, law firms and nonprofit organizations across Cincinnati and beyond. Applications to the college have doubled in the last two years and entering credentials continue to rise.  

This transformational gift doesn't just support that progress: it accelerates it, while also honoring Donald Klekamp’s legacy. The gift: 

• Fuels a robust scholarship program that blends merit- and need-based awards, helping UC Law recruit top-tier talent and preserve affordability.  

• Bolsters experiential learning at the college, including support to expand its Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program and creating a new endowed professor of practice to lead experiential programs. 

• Builds student success through whole-student support and readiness by adding professional staff focused on guiding students through their law school journey and funds supporting students with bar exam preparation. 

• Expands the Corporate Law Center’s reach and reputation with support for a dedicated directorship to mentor fellows, a corporate law/tax endowed chair to deepen faculty scholarship and retention, as well as funding for the Corporate Law Symposium and Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic. 

“This gift does not simply add resources to our college—it fundamentally changes what is possible for us,” said Haider Ala Hamoudi, JD, dean and Nippert Professor of Law, of the UC College of Law. 

“We know that to reach our full potential, we need the ability to compete for the best students through meaningful scholarship, deepen our dedication to student success and elevate our Corporate Law Center into a nationally prominent program. The Klekamp family’s generous gift gives us the capacity to do all of that, and to do it in a way that compounds over time. We have been building something here. This gift allows us to take it to the next level.” 

For media inquiries or more information, contact UC Public Information Officer Cedric Ricks at Cedric.Ricks@uc.edu or 260-415-8554.

Featured image at top: UC students at the College of Law, passing a statue of alumnus William Howard Taft, former U.S. President and Supreme Court Chief Justice. Photo/Chris Radcliffe for the UC Foundation.