DePaul Law is honored to announce a gift from Roman (JD ’94) and Molly Boed establishing two new funds to support JD students through financial assistance and recognition of academic achievement.
The Roman and Molly Boed Endowed Scholarship will provide tuition support to students who are facing or have overcome significant personal or financial challenges, including health issues, substantial financial hardships, professional setbacks or significant educational challenges.
The Roman and Molly Boed Academic Achievement Fund will provide annual recognition and financial assistance to JD students graduating in the top five percent of their class. The fund is the first of its kind at DePaul Law, with its inaugural recipients to be recognized at the May 2027 commencement ceremony.
This gift supports Mission: Forward, the campaign for DePaul University, reflecting the College of Law’s investment in the future success of its students.
“We are so fortunate to be able to launch these two new scholarship programs thanks to the generosity of Roman and Molly Boed,” said Dean Geoffrey Rapp. “The first scholarship will support students who have overcome obstacles or setbacks in their journey to law school, recognizing that the path to law school isn't always easy and that some of the best advocates for clients in need are lawyers who have themselves dealt with challenges.
"The second, a unique award for DePaul Law, helps us launch graduating students who have achieved the highest levels of academic achievement into the profession. As we celebrate these graduates with a new scholarship recognition, we help them enter the practice of law on stronger financial footing, knowing how proud of them we are.”
For Roman, academic excellence carries a clear professional meaning.
“In my view, academic excellence is the foundation of a successful law practice,” he said. “It is what underpins the quality of advice we as lawyers provide to our clients and, in the end, sound advice is what makes our services indispensable.”
Maria Vertuno, assistant dean of student affairs, sees firsthand the determination students bring to their legal education.
“Law school asks a great deal of students, and many are balancing those demands with significant responsibilities or challenges outside the classroom,” Vertuno said. “Support like this can give students more room to focus on their education and persist through difficult circumstances. It also matters for students to know that their hard work and accomplishments are seen and valued.”
After graduating from DePaul Law, Roman devoted his career to serving as a legal officer with the United Nations, working on refugee issues in the Russian Federation and international criminal law issues arising in the cases concerning the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the war in the former Yugoslavia.
Roman and Molly raised their family in duty stations including Moscow, Russia; Arusha, Tanzania; and The Hague, Netherlands. Roman retired from the United Nations in 2022 after serving as senior legal officer and chief of chambers of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague.
Since returning to Chicago, Roman and Molly have been active in philanthropic projects in education, social services, the environment and the arts, and Molly is currently a trustee of The Morton Arboretum and Chicago Lights.