C
atherine Bremer (JD '89) and her husband, Dr. Joseph Bremer, have made a $100,000 gift to support the Health Law Program at DePaul College of Law. Their generosity will create the Bremer Fund for Health Law & Racial Justice, which will provide support for student scholarships, as well as for externships or fellowships at organizations that address issues of systemic racism and health disparities affecting underrepresented communities.“Through their generous gift, the Bremers understand deeply what our students, community and society need at this crucial time to help students succeed and transform our institutions to achieve racial justice," said Dean Jennifer Rosato Perea. “We are so grateful for their vision and long-standing commitment to DePaul Law and its health law program."
Established in 1984, the College of Law's Health Law Program is consistently ranked as one of the top in the country. The comprehensive program provides students, alumni and practitioners with access to world-class faculty and cutting-edge programming, including the annual Jaharis Symposium on Health Law & Intellectual Property. The program also provides students with support and opportunities throughout their law school careers, preparing them to become the next generation of lawyers and health law leaders.
Bremer's life-long relationship with DePaul began in September 1967 when, according to Bremer, “a girl of modest means from the south side of Chicago boarded a bus, many miles later transferred to the 'L,' and a long ride later got off at Fullerton." After earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1971, Bremer worked as a registered nurse for 15 years. She returned to DePaul 20 years later as an evening law student and was one of the first graduates to receive a Health Law Certificate from the College of Law.
Following law school, Bremer was a successful trial attorney, specializing in personal injury litigation, health care law, employment law and corporate litigation. She argued in state and federal courts, including the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and she retired from practice in 2015. Bremer has served as a member of the Jaharis Health Law Institute's Advisory Board since 2010 and is a former member of the Dean's Advisory Council at the College of Law.
To Bremer, “DePaul has been, and continues to be, a leader in the field of health law, and it has been a privilege to have had such a long association with the Health Law Institute. These past months, however, have given us a heightened awareness of the racial injustice that is part of the Black experience and reminds us of the Vincentian question, 'What must be done?' When we asked that our gift be used in a way that linked health law with racial justice, DePaul enthusiastically embraced the idea. I'm proud to be an alum[na] of this school and all that it stands for and so fortunate to be able to give back."