Brooks McCormick Jr., a lifelong animal lover, philanthropist, and founding benefactor of the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, who passed away in 2015. Pictured with five of his companion animals.

November 10, 2021$10 million endowment established for the Harvard Law School Animal Law & Policy Program

Harvard Law School today announced the establishment of a $10 million endowment for the Animal Law & Policy Program, thanks to a gift from the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy.

Harvard Law School today announced the establishment of a $10 million endowment for the Animal Law & Policy Program, thanks to a gift from the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy.

The program now will bear the name of the institute’s founding benefactor, Brooks McCormick Jr., a lifelong animal lover and philanthropist who passed away in 2015. Brooks’ family founded the International Harvester company, and his great-grand uncle Cyrus McCormick revolutionized global agriculture by patenting the first mechanical crop harvester, the McCormick Reaper, in 1834.

“It is a meaningful and lasting reflection of Brooks McCormick Jr.’s life that the world’s premier academic program in animal law and policy will forever be named in his memory,” said Tim Midura, the executive director of the Brooks Institute. “Recognizing that every animal has a unique and inherent value as an individual being, Brooks was troubled by the fact that animals are treated as property under the law. He hoped that with a deeper understanding, policymakers could gain an objective analysis and create momentum for change. Through his vision and philanthropy, Brooks hoped to leave a legacy of opportunity that would produce a profound change in animal rights law and policy.”

You can read the full story in Harvard Law Today and further coverage by Reuters and an interview with Chris Green in 3 Quarks Daily.