School of Law Dean Eric Gouvin announced a new scholarship created by The Hon. Mary E. Hurley L'76 for law students with financial need. With an endowed commitment of $40,000, a scholarship of $2,000 will be available annually beginning in the 2021-2022 academic year. Judge Hurley expressed her deep gratitude for the time spent at the School.
“When I successfully ran for a seat on the Massachusetts Governor’s Council last year, I committed to not taking the $10,000 annual raise, but instead establish a scholarship with that money,” she said. “Western New England University gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to become an attorney and a judge, and I am forever grateful. I can think of no better way to pay it forward to the community as a whole than to create a scholarship at the School of Law for someone else seeking to become a lawyer.”
Judge Hurley was a founding partner of the Springfield law firm of Hurley, Melikian, and Sousa. A former Springfield city councilor, she was elected as the first female mayor of Springfield in 1989. In 1995, she was chosen to serve as an Associate Justice of the Chicopee District Court, and served 19 years on the bench before retiring. Upon retirement, Judge Hurley joined the Springfield law firm of Cooley Shrair P.C., and was elected as a member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Council in November 2016.
The scholarship will provide financial assistance to returning law students who have successfully completed their first year of law studies with a 3.0 GPA or higher. The scholarship recipients will need to demonstrate a financial need and display exemplary scholastic achievement, drive, and integrity. The scholarship is renewable for recipients in subsequent years of study at the Law School.
