When is “Stewardship” Too Much

I'm not sure if this should be an issue. And I may be making more out of it than I should. To be candid, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

It was recently announced that Duquesne University was naming its law school for Tom Kline, a prominent attorney in the Philadelphia area. This was a magnificent stewardship moment as Mr. Kline had given $50 million to the school. It's a glorious gift. And the recognition is more than appropriate.

Here's the rub for me. This will be the second school with Mr. Kline’s name on it. Eight years ago, he gave $50 million to a relatively new law school at Drexel University. While on opposite ends of the state of Pennsylvania, this means two Kline schools of law within the Commonwealth.

I am an enormous believer in naming opportunities as stewardship recognition. People who are magnanimously generous should be elevated as examples of people who want to change the world. Professionally, I have advocated and processed multiple large stewardship naming gifts and always got great joy out of seeing the smiles on the faces of the donors when that recognition finally occurred. The part that's off for me is something he said regarding the gift. Mr. Kline said (paraphrasing) that three of every 10 graduates in Pennsylvania will come from a Kline School of Law.  Somehow, that just didn't sit well with me.

It's a challenging balancing act. I might be jaded by the fact that even if I had the resources to make that kind of gift, I would never want my name on anything. I may be biased because of my personal perspective. And there's no doubt that Mr. Kline is a remarkable philanthropist. He is making the world a better place, most particularly for those in the legal education profession. We should all applaud that. But when does the public perception of stewardship overtake the generous intent of a benefactor?  I'm actually not sure, to be candid, but it does beg the question.