Kenneth B. and Ellen C. Forrest '76

A couple who met as students at SUNY Buffalo Law School, and in the intervening years have been substantial supporters of the school in time, energy and dollars, have stepped forward with a major gift in furtherance of the Law School’s mission.

Kenneth B. and Ellen C. Forrest, both members of the Class of 1976, have specified that their gift is to endow scholarships for deserving law students. “We thought about different alternatives for giving,” says Ken Forrest. “Law schools are very aggressive in providing scholarships to students, and we wanted to help SUNY Buffalo Law be in the position to do the same thing. We just felt this is what the Law School needs, and hopefully over the years the amount will accumulate so it will provide for meaningful scholarship money.

“In the past, we have given annual gifts which have been used for scholarships and have been gratified to learn that very well qualified students have received the benefit of these,” he said. “We wanted to do something along those lines on an endowed basis. It is our hope that other Law School alumni will consider making gifts for this purpose, because ultimately, if there were several large scholarship endowments available to the Law School, it would be certainly advance the Law School’s ability to attract top students with financial needs.”

Forrest is a partner in the New York City law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, concentrating his practice in the area of commercial litigation.

The gift comes as a capstone to the couple’s long involvement with SUNY Buffalo Law. Forrest was a founding member of the school’s Dean’s Advisory Council and has worked with four deans in helping to chart the Law School’s strategic direction. He has received Distinguished Alumnus Awards from the UB Alumni Association as well as from the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. In 2010 he received the Edwin F. Jaeckle Award, the Law School’s highest honor.

Ellen Forrest serves as board chair of the Vincent Smith School, a private school in Port Washington, N.Y., and has volunteered extensively with charitable organizations that relate to people with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders.

The couple have two grown children, Kimberly and Craig.