1. Page 14 University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law - Fall 2015 Issue RES GESTAE
For Spencer L. Kimball (U Law Dean,
1950–54), becoming a dean came about in an
unconventional way. At 31, he was the youngest
dean in the country. People took notice of him
because of his impressive, near-perfect perfor-
mance at U Law and as a Rhodes Scholar at
Lincoln College in Oxford, England. In a 1948
letter, William Leary (U Law Dean, 1915–1950)
wrote that Kimball offered the unusual qualifica-
tion of being a “person who is not yet admitted to
the bar, who has had no experience in practice,
or administrative experience in conducting a law
school.” Upon completing a Bachelor of Civil Law
Degree in Oxford in 1949, Kimball was offered and accepted a faculty position with
the University of Utah College of Law. Along with this offer, Leary also suggested
that Kimball consider accepting the deanship. After one year of teaching, and upon
Leary’s recommendation, Kimball became dean of U Law.
One of the first faculty members Kimball recruited after being appointed dean
was Sanford Kadish. The two had met and became friends during WWII while at-
tending Japanese language school in Boulder, Colorado. They subsequently served
together in the U.S. Navy as Japanese interpreters. Both went on to study law—
Kimball at Utah and Kadish at Columbia. In 1950 Kimball came to Kadish with
an offer to join U Law. At the time, Kadish was in private practice in New York. A
year later, Kadish accepted the offer and came to Utah. During his career, Kadish
became a well-known scholar and theorist in the field of criminal law, authoring a
leading criminal law casebook, Criminal Law and Its Processes. After 10 years with
U Law, Kadish went on to hold faculty positions at the law schools of the University
of Michigan and then the University of California, Berkeley. It was there that he
was offered a deanship of his own, serving in that
office from 1975 to 1982.
Another U Law faculty member who has
served as a dean is Edward “Ned” Spurgeon
(U Law faculty, 1980–83; U Law dean, 1983–90;
University of Georgia dean, 1993–98). Karen
McLeese, former Director of Development and
Alumni Relations at the College of Law, who
worked closely with Spurgeon, describes him
as an ideal dean candidate. “He was a progres-
sive thinker, he was all-inclusive, and he didn’t
discriminate between faculty and staff—everyone
was treated equally. He was also sensitive, atten-
History
From Kimball to Johnson, Many College of Law Faculty Become Deans
by Mary Ann Edwards
“You are more likely
to become a dean if
your experience as a
faculty member is an
experience which is
pleasant.”
– Patricia White

2. RES GESTAE University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law - Fall 2015 Issue Page 15
tive, and a very hands-on administrator, with great respect for
free expression from staff and faculty. He trusted people to
do what was necessary for the betterment of the law school.
He was a great mentor to me and we have enjoyed a lifelong
friendship.”
The late Fred
Anderson, a pioneer of en-
vironmental law, “brought
to Utah a sound knowledge
of the economic and scien-
tific dimensions of envi-
ronmental law,” says Owen
Olpin, longtime friend and
colleague and himself a for-
mer College of Law faculty
member. “He was in truth
an environmental econo-
mist and scientist—part and
parcel of being an environ-
mental lawyer. That is, perhaps, at the core of his most telling
contributions to environmental law.” Anderson served as a U
Law faculty member from 1980 to 1985 and served as dean
of the College of Law at American University of Washington
from 1985 to 1988. Anderson is also known for being the first
president of the Environmental Law Institute and the found-
ing Chair of the Center for International Environmental Law
(CIEL) and the Institute for Governance and Sustainable
Development (IGSD).
The late Lee
Teitelbaum joined the U
Law faculty in 1986, ac-
cepting the position of U
Law dean in 1990 and then
leaving in 1998 to become
dean of Cornell University
Law School. He returned to
U Law as faculty in 2003.
Professor Debora Threedy
remembers him as a true
gentleman who “lived
by the precepts to treat
everyone with politeness
and respect.” Another former colleague, Patricia White (U
Law faculty, 1994–98), says, “What I saw in Lee, which was so
lovely and inspiring, was that he had such wonderful personal
warmth and skills. He was the example of the dean who had
a non-hierarchical, warm, personal caring relationship with
all of his constituents. I had never seen that before in a law
school dean and was very touched by it and have tried very
hard to make it the way I treat everyone I work with and all
of my students. I would really say that watching Lee do that
was a wonderful example and really formative in my inter-
est in becoming a dean.” White was dean of the Sandra Day
O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University from
1999 to 2008 before becoming University of Miami School of
Law dean in 2009.
Other U Law faculty who have gone on to deanships
include Donald Zillman, former director of U Law Energy
Law Center, who became University of Maine School of Law
dean (1991–98). Scott
Matheson was a faculty
member from 1985 until
1993, leaving to serve as a
United States Attorney. He
returned to U Law as its
dean in 1998. Robert Adler,
the current U Law dean,
has been a U Law faculty
member since 1994. Most
recently, Christian Johnson
(U Law faculty, 2008–2015)
accepted a deanship this
year at Widener University
Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
So what is it about the College of Law environment that
produces so many deans? It could have something to do
with U Law’s “proud history and reputation as a law school,”
Johnson theorizes. “It enjoys a level of respect that is unusual
for a school of its size.” With programs and initiatives that
have gained national attention, such as the Stegner Center
and Pro Bono Initiative, it “gives people confidence in the
leadership that Utah develops,” Johnson notes.
The decision to move from teaching to a demanding
administrative role is not easy. The desire to effect change
comes with the territory in a law career, so the decision to
become a dean is perhaps made easier when you witness what
good a dean can do. “By watching the deans I’ve worked with,
I have found that it’s possible to influence an institution to
be a better place,” says Johnson. “I hope to be as successful as
deans [Hiram] Chodosh and Adler have been in gaining the
confidence of faculty and staff and in being able to initiate the
programs and projects that not only further the school’s repu-
tation but also make it a stronger, more collegial institution.”
For White, her time at U Law influenced her decision
to become a dean. “You are more likely to become a dean if
your experience as a faculty member is an experience which is
pleasant,” says White. She describes U Law as “a place that has
not been subject to fractions and division, with a history and
tradition of being a civil, civilized, and functional institution.”
Each path to deanship takes different turns, but U Law
has been an important part of the journey for those of its
faculty who have taken that step. A
v See more College of Law history at law.utah.edu/alumni