Post Date: September 30, 2004
James S. Reid, Jr. of Cleveland, Ohio has made a gift to Harvard Law School to endow a professorship dedicated to the teaching of accounting, statistics and related subjects. Income generated from the gift–which totals $3 million and includes funds given by Reid, John D. Drinko and others who were encouraged to contribute–will support the salary, benefits and research endeavors of a tenured Harvard Law professor.
“The Reid Professorship is a terrific example of a graduate helping the law school prepare students for success in today’s world,” said Dean Elena Kagan, who met with Reid and members of his family on campus last Friday. “Knowledge of accounting and statistics is vital for those pursuing careers in law, business and the non-profit world. Generations of Harvard Law students will benefit from Jim Reid’s wisdom and generosity.”
The first James S. Reid, Jr. Professor of Law is Howell Jackson, an expert in financial institutions, budget policy and other business-related issues. A member of the Harvard Law faculty since 1989, Jackson is a graduate of Harvard’s joint JD/MBA program; he also serves as the schools vice dean for budget. He brings longstanding expertise in accounting to the new professorship.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be chosen as the inaugural holder of the Reid chair and to know that the law school will be able to continue supporting faculty committed to research and teaching in the fields of accounting and statistics in the years ahead,” said Jackson. “I’m extremely grateful to Mr. Reid and his family.”
Last year, Jackson along with several other members of the law school faculty published Analytical Methods for Lawyers, a new textbook designed to introduce law students the fundamentals of quantitative skills, including accounting and statistics. Their Analytical Methods course will reach nearly two hundred students at Harvard this year, and the book has already been adopted at more than a dozen other law schools around the country.
A 1951 Harvard Law graduate, Reid is the retired CEO of Standard Products, a rubber and plastic manufacturing company. He has long believed that law students need basic training in accounting and statistics. Reid cited an accounting class taught by Professor Robert Amory, Jr. as one of the most valuable courses he took at Harvard Law School. His gift ensures that this subject will become a permanent part of the school’s curriculum.