Marie Witkin Kargman knows what it is like to navigate the rigors of law school as a night student. As one of the few women to graduate from the DePaul University College of Law in 1936, she also knows intimately the added burden faced by females studying the law. For these reasons, Kargman, along with her husband Max, have given $125,000 to DePaul’s law school to endow a scholarship for female evening students.

"Providing scholarship assistance is truly a way of assisting, in a most meaningful and significant manner, those students who will become the leaders of the legal profession and society," said Teree E. Foster, dean of the law school. "This generous gift will make the path way easier for female, evening division law students. "

The scholarship will be awarded annually to a woman who is a second-year student in the evening division who shows outstanding academic promise and an interest in family law. The recipient will retain the scholarship during her four years as an evening student. Scholarship winners will receive about $5,500 a year.

Kargman has enjoyed a dual career in law and sociology. Throughout, she has concentrated her enormous energy on advancing the understanding of the essential unity of both fields. Over the years she has worked mainly as a clinical sociologist with a major focus on marriage counseling. Her legal background put her in a prime position to serve as an advocate for the social concerns encountered through her clinical work.

After graduating from DePaul’s College of Law, Kargman practiced law until she entered Radcliffe College where, in 1951, she earned a master’s degree in social relations. Kargman used her education to build a dynamic career. She has worked as a public defender, counselor, court investigator and Boston University instructor. She also was the resident marriage counselor on a weekly one-hour television show in the Boston area. So distinctive was her work in television that she was invited to appear on the classic television quiz show "What’s My Line."

Kargman labored diligently to introduce behavioral science into family law. Her writings on law, society and family issues have appeared in a wide range of professional and general publications. Through her experience as a counselor, lawyer and advocate, Kargman has impacted diverse areas of law, as well as the fields of marriage counseling, feminism and public education.

A resident of Belmont, Mass., Kargman was instrumental in bringing attention to the contributions women have made to television history. In the 1970s, she was the driving force behind the Schlesinger Library’s acquisition of an audio-visual collection of women media achievements. At Kargman’s urging the library, which is located at Radcliffe College, convened an assembly of outstanding women in the media from the United States and Canada.

Kargman and her husband Max have been married for 60 years and have raised three children who are now lawyers, including one daughter. They are honored to help launch the careers of new female attorneys.

"I understand all too well how difficult it is to be a woman and an evening law student," said Kargman. "I am fortunate to be able to help other women who dream of becoming lawyers. While the path to a law degree may be difficult for many students, I know from experience how difficult it is for women who have to go to law school at night. Because I can, it is my responsibility to help."