Law Scholarship Started for Scranton STEM Grads

University of Scranton alumnus William F. Demarest, Jr. ’69, established a scholarship for Scranton students attending Boston College School of Law. Atty. Demarest graduated from Boston College School of Law, magna cum laude, in 1972.

The scholarship, which will be funded by Atty. Demarest and his wife, Donna, will provide scholarship aid to a graduating student from the University to attend Boston College School of Law. Preference will be given to Scranton graduates who majored in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) The scholarship will begin in the 2021-2022 academic year.

Atty. Demarest graduated, cum laude, from Scranton with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry.

“My undergrad training in the scientific method, as well as a broad liberal arts education, prepared me well for the case method in law school,” said Atty. Demarest. “Due to a special relationship which appeared to exist between B.C. Law and the University in the late ‘60s, I was fortunate to receive an academic full-tuition Presidential Scholarship from B.C. Law.”

As a law student at Boston College, Atty. Demarest was Articles Editor of the Boston College Law Review. He won a judicial clerkship with the Hon. Ruggero J. Aldisert on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. His distinguished career in law included serving as counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Commerce, and counsel to its chair, Hon. John Dingell.  

“Having now retired, my wife, Donna, and I are most appreciative of the opportunities that attending B.C. Law provided to us and our family. I am also of the view that the legal profession can benefit from greater participation by individuals trained in sciences,” said Atty. Demarest, explaining his motivation in establishing the scholarship.

The University of Scranton and Boston College School of Law have an early admissions agreement that allows Scranton students who meet program requirements to be eligible for admission to the prestigious law school after three years at Scranton. The agreement, commonly referred to as a “3-3 program,” allows Scranton students to earn a bachelor’s degree from Scranton and a juris doctor (JD) degree from Boston College in six, rather than seven years. Scranton also has 3-3 program agreements with Villanova School of Law, Duquesne University School of Law and Penn State Law in University Park.

For more information about the scholarship or Scranton’s 3-3 programs, visit Scranton’s pre-law webpage, or contact Matthew Meyer, Ph.D., pre-law advisor and professor of philosophy at The University of Scranton, at 570-941-5814 or matthew.meyer@scranton.edu.