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Welcome Message from the President
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Board Members
The Thomas M. Cooley Law School is a non profit corporation governed by a self perpetuating board of directors. From the earliest days, I wanted the school to have a board which would truly govern; one which would set the policies and appoint the major officers. And I wanted a board which would represent the legal profession; practicing lawyers and sitting judges; men and women who understood the practice of law and the relationship of our profession to the community at large. It was to be a board which would bridge the gap between the academic world and the real world, one which would assure that the mission of practical legal scholarship would be preserved and advanced.
We set about to achieve this goal by establishing a board consisting of both judges and lawyers. We tried to recruit a judge from each of the levels of the Michigan judiciary: a District Judge, a Probate Judge, a Circuit Judge and one jurist each from the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
In addition to myself, Supreme Court Justices who have served on the board include Michael F. Cavanagh, James H. Brickley, John W. Fitzgerald, James L. Ryan, and Dorothy Comstock Riley. Court of Appeals judges Harold Hood, Richard M. Maher, Roman S. Gribbs and Cooley’s own Jane Markey have served as well. A number of Circuit Judges have given their time and dedication to the work of the board. Jack Warren from Ingham County was among our first members. Charles Farmer from Wayne County was the first African American on the board. James E. Mies also of Wayne County, Jeffery Martlew from Clinton and Beverly Nettles Nickerson of the Ingham Circuit Court have served Cooley with distinction.
Donna Morris, Judge of Probate from Midland County was a long time board member whose association with the Strosacker Foundation in her home community brought Cooley its largest single financial contribution. Benjamin Gibson, was a Cooley professor and board member who went on to become a Federal District Judge in Grand Rapids.
I was especially pleased and proud to welcome Thomas E. Brennan Jr., Judge of the 55th District Court in Ingham County to the table as a member of the board of directors. Like many other board members, Tom was a graduate of Cooley, having taken his degree with the Marston Class in 1978. Another District Court Judge, Brent V. Danielson, a graduate of the first Cooley Class was elected to the board in 1989. Judge Danielson succeeded me as chairman in 2002.
Only three non lawyers have served on Cooley’s board: Russell Swaney, president of the Detroit Economic Club, Forrest Evashevski, businessman and one time University of Michigan football great who later coached at the University of Iowa, and John R. DesJardins, a financier from East Lansing.
The list of distinguished members of the bar who have sat at the board table over the years is long and impressive. Lou Smith, one of the three original incorporators served in several capacities; board member, president, and board chairman. Phil Marco of Harbor Springs was the first chairman. Bruce Donaldson and Jack Cote each did a term as president in the early days. Stanley Beattie, who taught me at the University of Detroit Law School served during the 1970’s, as did Bob Fisher and Bob Krinock. Lawrence P. Nolan was always a stalwart and generous board member. He was among the first Cooley graduates elected to the board. I had always hoped that the board would eventually be populated entirely by graduates of our law school. Through the years we recruited some of the most able, successful Cooley alums.
G. Michael Stakias was recruited by Larry Nolan. Mike graduated in the first class and has gone on to be a top investment banker in New York City. Also from the Big Apple, Anthony H. Gair was a partner in a highly regarded Wall Street firm founded by his father. Michael B. Rizik Jr. launched his own thriving law firm in Flint. Fred Headen was a legal advisor to the state legislature. James J. Vlasic another Marston Class graduate, is a principal in a major Detroit firm. Dale A. Robertson was an executive at Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield. Paul Hillegonds was Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives. Angeline Dvorak was a college president, and John Carras practices law in Midland.
It was not only an honor to serve with these people. It was a real thrill for me. They were examples of the best, most accomplished products of our school.
Just to listen to them talk about their lives; the remarkable things they were doing, the circles in which they moved, the cases and clients they dealt with; and to think that they were the end result of the sputtering little store front law school we had called into existence two decades before; the whole experience was unforgettable.
I always felt that the board members treated me with respect and deference, but I never wanted colleagues who would rubber stamp my ideas. And they most assuredly never did. It has been the glory and strength of the law school that its board has always put the interest of the school, its students and faculty at the top of the agenda. Discussion and debate at board meetings was always candid and forthright.
As the chief executive officer of the school, my administration was continuously scrutinized and evaluated by the board of directors. That was their responsibility as fiduciaries of the non profit educational corporation. I understood their sincere motivation and appreciated the objectivity of the decisions they made, even when I didn’t agree. I never expected to be immune from criticism. And I wasn’t disappointed.
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This Page was last updated on:
12/04/2006