HOUSTON — The BeyGOOD Foundation, founded by Houston native and Grammy-award-winning singer, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, has made a monetary gift to the University of Houston Law Center.
The foundation gave $100,000 to support the law center's Criminal Justice Clinic.
“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”
“We are so appreciative to the BeyGOOD Foundation for this impactful gift,” added Eloise Brice, vice president for advancement and alumni at UH. “Our students will be able to benefit from practical, real-world experience and impart their expertise to members of our community who are in need of their services.”
The funding will help ensure the Criminal Justice Clinic will have a full-time faculty and director. This will allow more students to enroll and benefit from the program.
Money will also help enhance the clinic's community outreach efforts and assist underserved communities near the university.
“The clinic provides a unique and valuable training experience for our students in how to navigate and work within the criminal justice system through client interaction, interviewing, counseling, negotiating, and oral and written advocacy,” said J. Anna Cabot, clinical associate professor and assistant dean of clinical programs at UHLC.
"We’re teaching future attorneys not only legal and lawyering skills but also how to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the system so they can serve communities that lack options for effective and ethical legal representation.”
The BeyGOOD Foundation was launched in 2013 and focuses on economic equity and education by supporting organizations that serve marginalized and under-resourced communities.
“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper’, as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”
