Private Property and the Public Good

Despite the long-standing importance of private property rights in American law, considerable encroachments have occurred in recent decades as governmental bodies have increasingly sought to deploy their eminent domain power to take property from individuals for a variety of so-called “public” uses.

The Sturm College of Law is hoping to address this issue. Thanks to a generous $2 million gift from Neil and Susan Ray, the college will establish the Joe T. Juhan Endowed Professorship in Property Rights and Policy (recognizing an outstanding faculty member in the Sturm College of Law with expertise in the fields of private property and natural resources law) and the Edward Nelson Juhan Natural Resources Program Fund (supporting visits by leading scholars, organizational leaders and governmental officials to teach and lecture on high-profile issues in these fields).

The Rays’ gift reflects a longstanding familial connection to DU and an interest in the work of Jan Laitos, the John A. Carver, Jr. Chair at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law.