$32.5 million naming gift from Bill Gatton creates law school deanship for Lonnie T. Brown Jr.
Lonnie T. Brown Jr., currently dean of the University of Tennessee’s law school, has been named the incoming Kean Family Dean of Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, effective August 1, 2026.
Before his appointment at Temple, Brown helped engineer one of the most consequential philanthropic investments in American legal education in recent years: a $32.5 million naming gift to the University of Tennessee College of Law from The Bill Gatton Foundation in 2025.
The gift led to the law school’s renaming as the Frank Winston College of Law, honoring alumnus, Air Force veteran, former state legislator, and longtime advisor to philanthropist and entrepreneur Carol “Bill” Gatton.
Presented as a transformational student-aid initiative rather than a bricks-and-mortar project, the contribution was designed to support multiple layers of long-term talent development at the institution.
At the heart of the $32.5 million commitment are two flagship fellowship programs: the Frank Winston Public Interest Law Fellows and the Frank Winston Business Law Fellows.
Each fellowship provides a full three-year Juris Doctor scholarship, a substantial living stipend, paid summer work placements, and curated enrichment activities designed to link classroom learning with real-world leadership in both public service and business law settings.
In parallel, the gift created the Frank Winston Law Grants, three-year, $1,000-per-year awards meant to reach at least 50 students in each class, adding flexible funds to offset the rising incidental costs of legal education for a broad cross-section of the student body.
The Gatton Foundation gift was the centerpiece of more than $64 million in gifts and pledges secured for Tennessee law since 2022, a fundraising run in which Brown played a central role in strategy and relationship management.
University leaders cast the donation as “transformational” for the college’s ability to attract students of high character and integrity who might otherwise be priced out of law school.
The package of fellowships and grants has been framed as both a competitive lever in the national law-school market and a values statement about access, public service, and ethical business practice.
Brown now arrives at Temple at a moment when the Beasley School of Law has climbed to No. 49 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings and is looking to capitalize on that momentum with enhanced national visibility, deeper research capacity, and expanded student support.
As Kean Family Dean, he will oversee a broad portfolio of J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. programs, along with multiple certificate tracks, at a law school named in gratitude for a landmark philanthropic gift from trial lawyer James E. Beasley Sr.
Temple officials are clearly betting that the same combination of academic leadership and high-level fundraising that yielded the Gatton Foundation’s $32.5 million naming gift can now be redeployed in North Philadelphia as the university pursues its next generation of major donors.