Pozez Gift Establishes Business and Transactional Law Chair
A $1 million gift from Norm Pozez, a 1980 graduate of Washburn University School of Law, will establish the Norman R. Pozez Chair in the Business and Transactional Law Center. The gift to Washburn Law was announced by Dr. Jerry Farley, President of Washburn University, and Dennis Honabach, Dean of the School of Law on Wednesday, December 7, 2005.
Pozez's gift is one of the most substantial given to the law school. Dean Honabach observed "The importance of this generous gift cannot be overstated. It will enable the School of Law to establish itself as one of the leading law schools in the field of Transactional Law, a cutting edge area of legal study of vital importance to both the legal and business communities. Thanks to Mr. Pozez's generous gift, Washburn Law will be able to attract and retain the best faculty members in the transactional law field. This will enable us to recruit highly successful and motivated students who are interested in the transactional area of the law."
Pozez has also established an unrestricted endowed fund for the law school and serves on the board of advisers for the Business and Transactional Law Center.
The Business and Transactional Law Center provides today's law students with the analytical tools they need to succeed as problem solvers, especially in the fields of business and commerce. The expectation is that students who participate in the center's activities will distinguish themselves as transactional lawyers and as law-trained leaders in all areas of commerce. The Pozez gift will provide the resources to attract an additional expert in the field of transactional law to the faculty of the law school.
Pozez is a native of Topeka now living in Washington, D.C. He is Chairman of the Uniwest Group, LLC; Uniwest Construction, Inc.; Uniwest Commercial Realty, Inc; and Uniwest1031, LLC. Previously, he was the Chief Operating Officer of The Hair Cuttery, Falls Church, Va., and is currently on the firm's Board of Advisors.
From early 2004 to early 2005, Pozez served as Chairman of the Board of Fidelity and Trust Corporation. He has also served as a Regional Director of Real Estate and Construction for Payless ShoeSource, a retail company founded by his father, Louis Pozez. During his tenure at Payless and for some years thereafter, Norm served on the Board of Directors of Bookstop, Inc. which sold to Barnes and Noble in 1989.
Since 1979, Pozez has been an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and is a board member of five not-for-profit organizations serving community needs in and around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
He and his wife, Melinda, have three sons.
(Posted December 8, 2005)
