Yale Law School has announced a $25 million gift from alumnus Robert C. Baker ('56 B.A., '59 LL.B.) and his wife, Christina, to acquire and renovate a building for use as a dormitory.

Once renovated, the four-story, 137,000 square-foot mixed-use facility will house Yale Law students in furnished two-bedroom suites with en suite bathrooms, galley kitchens, and shared community areas. The building also will house the China Law Center, the Information Society Project, and the Offices of Alumni Affairs and Development, which currently occupy the building's fourth floor. In recognition of the gift, the building, which the law school plans to acquire from the university in 2018, will be renamed Robert C. and Christina Baker Hall.

Baker is the founder, chair, and CEO of National Realty & Development Corp., one of the country's largest private development and ownership firms. In 1981, he and his brother established the Nathan Baker Professorship of Law in honor of their father.

"Residential life was central to the Yale Law School experience up until a few years ago," said Yale University president Peter Salovey. "Robert Baker's commitment to making on-campus living once again possible for law students is generous and visionary and will allow future generations to know the benefits of a community where living and learning are closely connected."