This summer, three UConn School of Law students will gain valuable experience working alongside a federal judge, a public defender, and a city corporation counsel thanks to a generous endowment from alum Dennis Mayer ’80.
Mayer’s gift supports a variety of the law school’s priorities, which can vary from year to year. This year, the gift will provide summer fellowships to support these students while they explore potential careers in public interest and public service jobs.
“The Dennis M. Mayer ’80 Endowment for Excellence gives the law school the flexibility to respond to various law school needs,” says Dean Eboni S. Nelson. “Thanks to Dennis’s generous gift, this year we’re supporting students with fellowships so they can gain experience in summer programs that are typically unpaid. This opens the door for more students to get hands-on experience exploring various public service fields.”
Mayer says he wanted to meaningfully contribute to the law school because it not only helped him pivot in his career but has a broad, positive impact on the state.
“One of the remarkable things about the school is the impact it has on the law community in Connecticut,” Mayer says. “A lot of our graduates go into public service. I think that they really deserve recognition because it is very helpful to the state.”
Mayer is particularly grateful for his law school education because it opened the door to a new career. After graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he started working as an engineer but soon realized it was not his calling. So, he enrolled in the law school’s evening division, studying nights and weekends while holding down a full-time job at Combustion Engineering.
“The law school was an important catalyst in my career,” he says. “The advantage of law is the amazing scope of different careers you can take from a law degree. The discipline of law school is very different from the discipline of engineering school. It gives you the flexibility of thought and that made me very effective in dealing with business and employee issues.”
Mayer built a 30-year legal career at United Technologies. He started as an associate counsel at Sikorsky Aircraft and worked his way up to become general counsel of Otis Elevator North and South America.
Mayer retired in 2013 and now he and his wife, Bernadette, live in Windham, New Hampshire, near his daughter and her family. They also have a place in Rhode Island, where they enjoy long walks on the beach. He remains involved with the law school. Besides making his generous gift, he serves on the Law School Alumni Board.
