In 2004, Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc. (now Southern Glazer’s) established the Chaplin Family Scholarship at the University of Miami School of Law to be awarded every three years to an outstanding entering law student. The scholarship covers tuition expenses for three years of study at Miami Law. The recipient is selected based on merit, with preference given to a student with an interest in transactional work.
Wayne Chaplin, President and COO of Southern Wine and Spirits of America, was born in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating magna cum laude from the University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, he received a law degree, also from the University of Miami. Following a period practicing law at a Miami-based firm, he joined Southern Wine and Spirits of America in 1984. He quickly learned the importance of customer service in all aspects of his work as he prepared himself for a future leadership role.
In his first three years at Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Mr. Chaplin worked as a sales supervisor, company comptroller, and operations manager. In 1987, he was appointed Vice President in charge of operations; and in 1989, he was named First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing all divisions of the company’s distributing operations. In 1992, he was appointed to the Company’s Executive Management Committee and became an officer and director at that time. In 1994, he was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc. “Since our founding in 1968, Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc. has taken a progressive, active, and constructive role in community, state, and national affairs. These are fundamental values of the Company. At Southern, we want to ‘give back,’ and we strive every day to be responsible members of the communities in which we live,” said Mr. Chaplin.
In addition to Mr. Chaplin’s above-noted corporate-related philanthropic activities, he volunteers in various leadership activities at the University of Miami. Currently, he serves as Vice Chair of the University’s Board of Trustees and the Chair of the University’s School of Law Visiting Committee. Mr. Chaplin serves as Chairman and Member of the Executive Committee at the Mount Sinai Hospital of Miami Beach and on the Board of Trustees at the Miami Country Day School.
The Chaplin award provides full law tuition (fall and spring) for up to 88 credits, including six approved non-law course credits taken in other departments of the University and applied toward the JD degree, plus an annual stipend of $1,000. In addition, recipients are granted a full-tuition scholarship for one Miami Law summer session following their first or second year of law school. Specific requirements to maintain the award may be found in the student’s initial scholarship notification and in the Scholarship Retention Policies section below.
Additionally, students who meet the scholarship renewal criteria upon completion of their JD degree are eligible to receive a full-tuition scholarship if they are admitted into and enroll in a Miami Law LLM program directly upon graduation (or in a joint degree JD/LLM offering before graduation). Miami Law offers LLM programs in Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law; International Law; International Arbitration; Tax Law; Real Property Development; Estate Planning; and Maritime Law.
No separate application is required for the Chaplin Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded based on admissions credentials and achievements, without regard to financial need. Recipients must accept their scholarship award and pay the two $500 seat deposits by the required dates. The scholarship award letter will outline the scholarship acceptance process.
