The Federal Judicial Center Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation that Congress established to receive gifts to support the work of the Center. The Foundation has sole authority to decide whether to accept gifts, and thereby to determine the suitability of would-be donors. The Foundation may not accept gifts earmarked for projects that have not previously been approved by the Center’s Board, and the Center has sole control over the design and conduct of activities supported by donations.
The Foundation is governed by a seven-person board appointed by the Chief Justice, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. No Foundation Board member may be a active judge. The Foundation Board members at the close of 2006 were as follows:
Marna S. Tucker, Washington, D.C., Chair;
Richard D. Casey, Sioux Falls, S.D.;
Charles A. Legge, San Francisco, Cal.;
Laurie L. Michel, Washington, D.C.;
Sam C. Pointer, Birmingham, Ala.;
John B. White, Jr., Spartanburg, S.C.; and
Benjamin L. Zelenko, Washington, D.C.
In creating the Foundation, Congress directed that the Center’s Annual Report describe the purposes for which Foundation gifts were used in the relevant year. The Center used the following Foundation gifts in 2006.
- A multiyear grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to support a project that provides on-site consultation to courts seeking assistance in developing or refining their alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs funded travel expenses for consultations with one court in 2006.
- Funds provided by the Duke University Law School paid the travel expenses for federal judges to attend a program on advanced mediation strategies.
- Funds provided by the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College paid the travel expenses for federal judges to attend a program on environmental and natural resources law.
- Funds provided by the American Association for the Advancement of Science paid the travel expenses for federal judges to attend two programs on emerging issues in neuroscience.
- Funds provided by Professor Margaret Berger of Brooklyn Law School from a grant she received from a trust fund created by the settlement of silicone gel breast implant litigation supported federal judges’ attendance at two law and science seminars coordinated by Professor Berger in cooperation with the Center.
- Non-earmarked grants provided partial support of a judicial seminar on the humanities and science at Princeton University (the Harold Medina Seminar).