Celebrating the Life of Roy Prosterman, Whose Work Lifted Millions Out of Poverty

Roy Prosterman, Professor Emeritus and founder of the Sustainable International Development LL.M. Program at the University of Washington School of Law and Landesa, passed away the morning of February 27, 2025. He was 89.

Professor Prosterman’s work combined research, legal expertise, and advocacy to provide land ownership and opportunity for millions. It became a blueprint for inclusive social and economic development across the globe. His vision also led to the founding of Landesa, an award-winning International Nongovernmental Organization, which continues to carry on his legacy of impact throughout the world.

Several alumni of the UW Law’s Sustainable International Development (SID) Program have gone on to work for Landesa, and many SID students work with Landesa through internships and other experiential learning opportunities. Each year, the SID Program recognizes a student who has demonstrated exceptional leadership for the global public good with the Prosterman Award for Leadership in Public Service.

“Professor Prosterman’s legacy will live on at UW through the more than two decades of students who have benefitted from the Sustainable International Development graduate program he founded,” said Anita Ramasastry, Faculty Director, Sustainable International Development Graduate Program. “Many of our alumni are leaders in global development across the globe."

Prosterman joined the University of Washington School of Law in 1965. In 1966, Prosterman wrote a law review article concerning land reform in Latin America, in which he encouraged a democratic approach to providing land to families who did not have legal rights to the land on which they depended. Soon after, he was invited to Vietnam to work with the southern government on a program intended to provide land ownership to tenant farmers stuck in poverty. The resulting land reform law he authored was referred to as “probably the most ambitious and progressive non-Communist land reform of the 20th century” by the New York Times.

Over the next few decades, Prosterman continued to work on land rights in nations across the globe, including the Philippines, Pakistan, and in Latin American countries. This work expanded beyond land issues to include world hunger, nuclear arms reduction, U.S. foreign aid reform, and numerous other issues focused on bettering the world.

He received numerous awards and honors over the course of his life, such as the Gleitsman Foundation International Activist Award, which honors achievement in world poverty alleviation, as well as the inaugural Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership. He was also a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee. However, most importantly to Prosterman, Landesa’s impact has contributed to countless legal and policy changes that have improved the lives of millions around the globe.

Prosterman graduated with a B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1954. In 1958, he received a Juris Doctor from Harvard University.

Roy Prosterman’s full obituary is available from Landesa.