Barker’s gift to found animal law program; Science Foundation funds chip research

University of Virginia, come on down!

Bob Barker, longtime host of “The Price is Right,” has given the School of Law $1 million to create an animal law program.

The endowment was one of two $1 million contributions the university announced Tuesday. The National Science Foundation also gave a $1 million grant to a group of UVa engineers to fund research that will improve the security of tiny chips used in remote car-locking systems and touchless debit cards.

The Bob Barker Animal Rights Program will include an animal law class starting in 2009-10, guest speakers and independent study and externship opportunities. The program also will create a writing competition that may be open to all of UVa’s graduate students.

Barker, who used to end every broadcast with a reminder to “spay and neuter your pets,” is an outspoken advocate of animal rights who has been giving money to top law schools for animal law programs. The 85-year-old retired as host of “The Price is Right” last year and was succeeded by bespectacled comedian Drew Carey.

“Animals need all the protection we can give them,” Barker said Tuesday via e-mail. “To have law schools of this stature train students in animal rights law will ultimately lead to a national effort to make it illegal to brutalize and exploit these helpless creatures.”

As a result of Barker’s gift, UVa’s law school will be the first in the state to have a formal animal law course. Mimi Riley, a professor of law who has done scholarly work in animal law and animal issues, will head the program.

Riley said the course would teach students about animal law as it applies to other forms of law, such as environmental law, property law, constitutional law and criminal law.

“Animal law is a growing area that is in much discussion,” Riley said. “It is a good way even for a student who has no interest in practicing animal law to enlarge their interest and to understand different ways the law works.”

A recent of example is Leona Helmsley’s will, Riley said.

When the hotelier, dubbed the “queen of mean,” died at 87 in August 2007, she spurred a legal debate by leaving behind a $12 million trust for the care of her dog.

Riley said a group of students at UVa have shown interest in animal law.

Elsewhere at UVa, the National Science Foundation’s grant will enable a team of engineers to create a more secure design for RFID chips, which are commonly found in remote car-locking systems and touchless debit cards.

These tiny chips, which send information over short distances using weak radio waves, are an increasingly popular way to monitor potentially sensitive information.

UVa researchers have been working to create a stronger encryption scheme that would keep information on RFID chips secure while keeping costs low.