STL first class (2008-2012) started Gray Student Development Fund at STL in memory of their Contract professor Whitmore Gray, who passed away in 2018. The program is also to remember and appreciate all those who, like Professor Whitmore Gray, have contributed to the development of Peking University School ofTransnational Law (“STL”) and Chinese legal education, and to boost the further development of STL.
The initial donation will award STL students who have outstanding academic achievements and rich experience in promoting public interest service. Starting from 2022, the program will award four students each an amount of RMB 5,000, with a total value of RMB 20,000 each year.
In October 2022, STL announced the recipients of the 2022 Gray Student Development Fund: Jiang Jie (Class of 2023), Hou Sumin (Class of 2024), Sun Yilin (Class of 2024), and Zhao Mengmeng (Class of 2025), in recognition of their excellent academic performance and outstanding contributions to public welfare.
Zhao Mengmeng said, “The Gray Scholarship not only encourages me but also inspires other STL students who are dedicated to public welfare. I will use what I have learned to help others and work more in terms of legal aid and female rights!” Sun Yilin expressed her gratefulness for receiving this honor in the first year of its establishment, and said she would cherish this bond among STLers by working hard and seeking progress.
Whitmore GRAY (1932-2018), Professor Emeritus of the University of Michigan School of Law, was a renowned jurist, educator, and linguist. When he was a visiting professor at STL from 2008 to 2015, he has taught Contract Law and Comparative Contract Law. In his 80s, Professor Gray still insisted on teaching at STL and made significant contributions to the disciplinary development and scientific research of STL. He has always been admired and respected by studentsat STL. Professor Gray was once a legal reform adviser in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Argentina and was also a visiting scholar at University of Tokyo. He has taught at Fordham University, Jilin University, and the Summer School. He was an expert in contract law, commercial law, and comparative legal systems, and translated the Russian Civil Code and the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China into English.
Translation：WU Na
Proofreading：HE Caizhen，LI Yancheng，LI Kexin，LI Chaoqun
