Donor Impact Report 2024-2025

with him beginning in her first year. She remembers his humility, humor, and unwavering commitment to fairness. “What has always stayed with me is his unwavering sense of fairness and respect for the dignity and worth of all people.” She recalls his joy in writing and his deep devotion to teaching as his true calling. For Hasse, Professor Brooks has been a lifelong mentor, shaping not only her approach to law but her approach to life. Their ongoing conversations taught her to engage with differing perspectives honestly and thoughtfully. His “Right/Wrong Answer” philosophy— recognizing growth even in imperfect answers— continues to guide her leadership. “I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today without his influence.” Together, these alumni reflect the legacy of a teacher whose impact extends far beyond the classroom and empowers students to think deeply, act with integrity, and carry forward a commitment to justice that defines his life’s work. Through his lectures and writings, Professor Brooks challenged prevailing assumptions about race, power, and equality in America, urging his students to think deeply and speak truthfully. His approach, as he once described it, was “at once familiar and radical,” rooted in the belief that character and scholarship are inseparable, and that law must always serve humanity. To honor his enduring impact, the School of Law has established the Roy Brooks Fund for Social Justice. This fund will support visiting

scholars, speakers, and faculty whose work advances the principles Professor Brooks has championed throughout his career: civil rights, human dignity, and the non-negotiable pursuit of justice. As Dean Schapiro noted, “This fund ensures that his work not only endures but continues to spark change for generations to come.” At a celebration marking his final public lecture, USD President James T. Harris called Brooks “a courageous scholar, a pioneering legal thinker, a model of the teacher-scholar ideal, and a living embodiment of our university’s mission to confront humanity’s challenges, foster peace, work for justice, and lead with love.” Though Professor Brooks’ tenure in the classroom is coming to a close, his legacy remains vibrant in every student he inspired, every colleague he mentored, and every reader moved by his words. His light, and his life’s work, will continue to guide the USD School of Law towards the just and compassionate world he envisioned.

GIVING

Dorothy Couchman ’24 (JD), Anna Capati ’24 (JD), Prof. Roy L. Brooks, Jacqueline Isaac ’09 (JD), and Amalea Romero ’17 (JD)

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UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO SCHOOL OF LAW