Villanova Law School receives $5M gift

Former Blank Rome chairman David F. Girard-diCarlo and his wife, Constance, announced a $5 million gift Tuesday to the Villanova University law school for the establishment of a center on ethics and compliance.

The center, launched a few months ago, will offer course work, programs, and conduct research on corporate compliance and ethics, an area of increased focus by business, government regulators, and law enforcement.

"Adhering to the highest ethical standards in your profession and encouraging others with whom you interact to do the same can and will create a culture that promotes achievement," said a statement released by Girard-diCarlo and his wife, a lawyer and former Aramark executive. "It is our hope and expectation that this new center will reinforce the importance of fostering an environment based on ethics and integrity not only in law and business but also in life."

Villanova Law School dean John Y. Gotanda said that a number of Villanova law alumni also had contributed to the project, but that the bulk of the financial support came from the Girard-diCarlos.

"We believe this is on the cutting edge of where we as an institution should be going," he said.

The corporate scandals of the early 2000s, which resulted in the collapse of energy trading company Enron and the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen, among others, served to intensify the focus on ethical standards for corporate executives and their advisory firms. Many companies have established extensive ethics and compliance programs, sometimes under pressure from the Justice Department, as a consequence.

The center is named the David F. and Constance B. Girard-diCarlo Center for Ethics, Integrity and Compliance. Gotanda pitched the idea to the Girard-diCarlos at a meeting in Santa Fe, N.M., where the couple now live. The center's director, longtime Villanova law professor Steven Chanenson, also was along.

For years, Girard-diCarlo was a major figure in Philadelphia business and legal circles and a top Republican fund-raiser. He was close to President George W. Bush, and was appointed U.S. ambassador to Austria in 2008 and served in that position until shortly before President Obama took office in 2009.

Before his diplomatic appointment, he served for 22 years as managing partner and then chairman of Blank Rome. He came to prominence in the 1970s when former Gov. Dick Thornburgh named him to the SEPTA board of directors. Both Girard-diCarlo and his wife are Villanova law graduates.