Vanderbilt Law School announced March 13 that alumni Clay and Lara Travis committed $10 million to fund key priorities at the school. Priorities include free speech efforts through the First Amendment Clinic and the Law School’s “Respectfully Dissent” debate series, support for student-parents and student veterans, funding for merit-and need-based scholarships and building renovation.
Lara and Clay Travis started their journey at Vanderbilt Law School in 2001, meeting in their first year when Clay Travis was recruiting players for a coed softball team. Clay Travis graduated in 2004, going on to complete his MFA in Creative Writing at Vanderbilt and become a radio and television host, writer and founder of sports commentary website Outkick.
In a comment to The Hustler, Clay Travis explained how Lara Travis’ experience influenced the couple’s goal to support students at Vanderbilt. Lara Travis, now a legal advisor, left the law school after her first year to complete a M.Ed. in human development and counseling from Vanderbilt. She returned to the law school in 2023 to obtain her J.D.
“My wife completed her law school studies while raising three boys and wanted to ensure that parents — and veterans — would have additional support while pursuing their legal studies,” Clay Travis said.
Clay Travis reflected on his motivations behind setting free speech as a key priority for the commitment.
“I believe the most important lesson lawyers must learn is how to advocate aggressively and intelligently for all their clients across the entire political spectrum and from all walks of life,” Clay Travis said. “In colonial times, John Adams defended the soldiers accused of murder in the Boston Massacre, not because he agreed with them, but because the job of a lawyer is to zealously defend the rights of everyone. I hope young Vandy lawyers will take up this mantle going forward. I also believe the most important right we have is the first amendment, and I believe it’s only through robust and uninhibited debate in our marketplace of ideas that the country reaches the best outcomes.”
The gift will endow the position of Assistant Clinical Professor of Law Jennifer Safstrom, who teaches the Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic, as the Clay Travis Director of the clinic. At the clinic, students benefit from hands-on work and experiential learning by handling real-world constitutional issues. In a message to The Hustler, Safstrom described how the funding would impact the First Amendment Clinic.
“This generous gift reflects a meaningful investment in Vanderbilt Law School’s commitment to protecting free expression and promoting civil discourse,” Safstrom said. “It strengthens the work of the clinic, where students represent clients in matters involving speech, press, assembly, and petition rights across a range of issues and viewpoints. The clinic has taken cases to safeguard these core democratic freedoms, including protecting clients’ online expression, expanding access to open meetings and defending government employee speech.”
In a comment to The Hustler, Vanderbilt Law School Dean Chris Guthrie echoed these sentiments of the commitment’s impact on different areas of the school.
“This is a very special gift that will help fund clinical education, academic programming, student support and our building renovation,” Guthrie said. “The Law School aims to provide all students with a supportive environment that fosters healthy debate and discussion, and this gift will help us achieve that important goal.”
