Walter Mander Foundation Endowments at the University of Chicago Law School
The largest single beneficiary of the Walter Mander Foundation has been the University of Chicago Law School for several reasons. Wally Mander was a proud resident of Hyde Park from his arrival in the United States in 1940 until his death in 1999 and he recognized the preeminence and importance of the University despite the fact that his formal education was terminated by the Nazis in the fourth grade. His nephew, Chuck Wolf, attended the Law School from 1972 to 1975, practiced law in Chicago for 41 years, became President of the Foundation upon Wally’s death in 1999, and has been very active in Law School affairs all along, including service as a life member of the Law School Council, as Class Correspondent and as a reunion co-chair.
He has taught Employee Benefits Law at the School since 2012. Chuck’s son, Pete, a Mander Foundation Board member, and his wife, Erin Wagner Wolf, are members of the Class of 2010 and have been practicing law ever since.
Suffice it to say that the Wolf family is very proud of its connection to the Law School and believes strongly in the excellence of the School’s teaching and research.
The Mander Foundation has created three endowment funds which provide annual payouts to support Law School operations. First, the Foundation established the Walter Mander Teaching and Research Scholars Fund in 2005 to allow the Dean to supplement the compensation of outstanding faculty. As of June 30, 2024, the market value of the fund was $1.35 million and the annual payout was $66,000.
The most recent recipient was Professor Adam Chilton who was named Dean of the Law School effective July 1, 2025. The outgoing dean, Tom Miles, pointed out that “Just a few years ago, seemingly every prominent law school was seeking to recruit Adam away from us. The support and recognition that the Walter Mander Research Scholar position provided was instrumental in our keeping Adam on our faculty. If Adam had left our faculty ranks, the history of the Law School would now be very different. I am very grateful to you for this powerful impact!
“Also, I hope that you have noticed how the Walter Mander Scholar positions have quickly developed a remarkably close connection with the deanship. Three future law deans have been honored with the Walter Mander Scholar positions. Before I became dean, I had the honor of holding the Research Scholar position. Then our friend, Daniel Abebe (now dean at Columbia Law School), received the Teaching Scholar position. Now, the most recent recipient of the Research Scholar position was Adam Chilton. I doubt there is an academic position anywhere with such a such a history of its recipients becoming future law deans. The next recipients have a lot to live up to!”
In 2009, the Mander Foundation also established the Ludwig and Hilde Wolf Teaching and Research Scholar Fund in memory of Chuck’s parents, including Wally’s sister. As of June 30, 2024, the market value was $1.2 million and the annual payout was $56,000. The Foundation has a pending pledge in which it is adding to this fund for the next few years. For many years, this fund has supported the work of Professor Tom Ginsburg, one of the nation’s preeminent Constitutional scholars, a fantastic teacher and public intellectual, the faculty director of UChicago’s superb Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression and a good friend of Chuck.
Finally, the Mander Foundation established the Wolf Family Student Philanthropy Fund in 2014. As of June 30, 2024, the market value was $0.89 million and the annual payout was $43,000. The purpose of this fund is to encourage student philanthropy to the Law School (including student organizations and legal clinics), hopefully to establish the habit of annual giving after graduation. It was modeled after a program at University of Michigan Law School. The fund supports matching challenge gifts and social events in connection with fund raising drives, all of which are managed by boards of student volunteers working with development staff. At times, the programs have been quite successful and it is never a bad idea to have a party, even if the purpose is fundraising.
Adam Chilton, Walter Mander Research Fellow, Named University of Chicago Law School Dean
Prof. Adam Chilton has been appointed dean of the University of Chicago Law School, effective July 1, 2025. The Howard G. Krane Professor of Law and the Walter Mander Research Scholar, Chilton is widely recognized for his research at the intersection of international law, comparative law and empirical legal studies. His work addresses a broad array of global and domestic legal issues, including constitutional design, human rights, judicial behavior and legal education.
He currently serves as co-editor of UChicago’s Journal of Law and Economics and previously co-directed the Harry A. Bigelow Teaching Fellowship—a leading program for training future law professors. He also serves on the board of the American Law and Economics Association and is a fellow of the Society for Empirical Legal Studies.
“I strongly believe that the University of Chicago Law School is the world’s most academically outstanding and rigorous law school, and it is an extraordinary honor to lead it,” Chilton said.
“I’m immensely proud of our institution’s long history of producing rigorous scholarship, delivering transformative legal education, and respecting free expression and intellectual diversity. I’m excited to work with our outstanding faculty, staff, students and alumni to build on our rich legacy and
continue pushing the boundaries of legal teaching and research.”
Chilton joined the Law School faculty in 2014 after serving as a Bigelow Fellow and Lecturer in Law. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Yale University, followed by a JD and Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University.