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. Foundation Board members at the close of 2016 were as follows:
James M. Wagstaffe, San Francisco, Cal., Chair;
Hon. Rebecca L. Kourlis (Ret.), Denver, Colo.
Peter A. Kraus, Dallas, Tex.;
Laurie L. Michel, Washington, D.C.;
Blake D. Morant, Winston-Salem, N.C.;
John B. White, Jr., Spartanburg, S.C.; and
Benjamin L. Zelenko, Washington, D.C.
In creating the Foundation, Congress directed that in its annual report the Center describe the purposes for which Foundation gifts were used in the reporting year. The Center used the following Foundation gifts in 2016:
- Funds from 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 from Electronic Discovery Institute paid the travel expenses for judges to attend a program on the proposed changes to the FRCP.
- Funds from Vanderbilt University paid the travel expenses to support federal judges’ attendance at a mid-career workshop.
- Funds from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College paid travel expenses to support a seminar on environmental and natural resources law.
- Funds from the Department of State covered travel expenses in providing technical assistance to the judiciary in the Republic of Namibia.
- Funds from class action settlement litigation covered travel expenses for judges to attend the seminar on Managing Settlement in Complex Litigation.
- Non-earmarked funds provided partial support of a judicial seminar on the humanities and science at Princeton University.