Wayne State University alumnus Spencer M. Partrich has contributed $2.5 million to the Wayne State Law School's Campaign for the 21st Century, including support for a new state-of-the-art law auditorium.

In accepting the gift at a May 17 ceremony on campus, WSU President Irvin D. Reid called it one of the largest commitments ever made to the university by an individual, corporation or foundation.

Reid said the gift is a key element in making Wayne State one of the nation's most important urban teaching and research institutions, and that it will increase the university's ability to expand internationally as well.

Noting that Partrich's gift is the cornerstone of the fund-raising campaign's building component, Reid said he would recommend to the university's Board of Governors that the new auditorium-courtroom be officially named the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium.

Partrich of Bloomfield Hills, a member of the Law School Committee of Visitors, received his bachelor's degree from Wayne State in 1963 and his law degree in 1964. He is now a nationally recognized real estate developer doing business primarily in the Midwest.

He said he is supporting the university financially so others may have the same chance for a successful professional life that he did.

"My hope is that other students will come to Wayne State University to experience the opportunities that were presented to me," he said. "Wayne State provides a door of opportunity, and we as an alumni body need to keep that door open."

Joan Mahoney, dean of the Law School, said the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium will be the prime feature of the new law building, which also will include a number of new and innovative features for students and faculty. The auditorium itself will be equipped for lectures, symposia and moot court sessions.

Discussions also are under way, she said, to hold actual court sessions there for the Michigan Supreme Court, Michigan Court of Appeals, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U. S. District Court. "To bring the courts into the school improves our connection with the bench and bar and gives students the unique experience of seeing experienced litigators and judges practice their trade," Mahoney said.

The dean also noted that Partrich's generous gift is a significant step toward reaching the Campaign for the 21st Century's goal of $16.5 million, and expressed the hope that other alumni would follow his example and become donors.

For more information call James Robb, assistant dean, WSU Law School, at (313) 577-4834.