The Eric and Nancy Wright Professorship of Clinical Education at Stanford Law School was formally established in 2006 as a clinical teaching position, and William Koski (PhD ’03) was named the inaugural chair. With the establishment of this chair, Stanford Law School and the anonymous donor honor the work and dedication to public service that Eric ’67 (BA ’64) and Nancy Wright have demonstrated throughout their combined 61 years in public service law.

The Wrights, both professors at Santa Clara University, have a long history with Stanford’s clinical program dating back to when Eric was studying at the law school and he and a small group of students helped to establish the first incarnation of Stanford Law School’s legal clinic in East Palo Alto. They have continued to be involved with clinical and public interest programs at Stanford as visiting professors teaching in the Community Law Clinic. Throughout their careers, Eric and Nancy Wright have participated in a variety of community organizations, serving on numerous boards of directors, and performed extensive pro bono work,receiving many awards in recognition of their work.
A dedicated clinical teacher who has garnered the praise of his colleagues and students, Koski was invited to join Stanford Law School’s faculty in 2001 as the first full-time faculty member appointed to a clinical position at the school and now serves as director of the Youth and Education Law Project. An experienced litigator, Koski began his career at Stanford as a supervising attorney with the East Palo Alto Community Law Project where he represented low-income youth and families in race discrimination, student discipline, and disability rights matters. In addition to serving hundreds of children and youth in school-related matters, he has served as lead and as co-counsel in three complex class action matters, including Emma C. v. Delaine Eastin, a groundbreaking class action lawsuit that seeks to systemically reform the special education delivery service in a Bay Area school district. He received a BA with highest distinction from the University of Michigan in 1990, a JD cum laude from the University of Michigan in 1993, and a PhD from the Stanford University School of Education in 2003.