Alumnus Alexander "Zander" Blewett III and his wife Andy made a gift of $800,000 to the University of Montana, UM, School of law to establish Blewett Scholars Fund.

Deemed the largest financial donation in the school's history, the gift will assist incoming students, who hold bachelor's degree from Montana State University, MSU, in Bozeman. The new scholarship will cover half of the tuition costs for three recipients every year. The first Blewett scholars will be announced fall 2014.

Blewett, a 1971 graduate of law school, has close ties with the University. Blewett's father (Alexander Blewett Jr.) and both his sons (Anders and Drew) have also graduated from the law school in 1938 and 2007 respectively.

"We've all been so fortunate to acquire these skills at the University of Montana School of Law. The quality of the program, starting with the faculty, truly prepares its students in trial tactics and appellate arguments - our law school experiences have been instrumental to the successful careers we've been able to develop," Blewett said in a statement.

Blewett hopes that the scholarship will assist prospective students to attain quality education offered at the School of Law campus.

This is not the first major donation from the Blewett family. They helped finance new athletic facilities at MSU and contributed to UM School of Law through the Law School Building Fund.

"It is a true privilege to have the support and long-standing relationship with the Blewett family, and we are so grateful for their visionary and generous gift today. We look forward to accepting more excellent students from MSU," UM President Royce Engstrom said.

Irma Russell, UM School of Law Dean, said that the scholarships will attract potential students and create a more diverse campus community. Russell said that when students receive financial support in law schools, they have the liberty to consider public service or community service like civic leaders, judges, governors and law professors.

Zachary Rogala, an MSU graduate studying law at UM, said the fund will help retain Montana students in the state and makes the UM program a popular choice.

"They're cultivating future seeds for other MSU graduates," said Rogala. "We've been blessed with community members who have contributed to the prosperity of our state by whatever means possible. This is a great opportunity for the School of Law and the state," Missoulian reports.