

B.A. Kalamazoo College 1964
J.D., cum laude, Wayne State University, 1967
L.L.D. Thomas M. Cooley Law School (Honorary)
I joined WMU-Cooley Law School in 1975 as a professor of law. I served as Dean from 1982 to 1987 and then again from 1996 to 2018. I was named president of the law school in 2002 and served in both capacities from then until August 31, 2018 when I retired from those offices. He remains with the school as a tenured professor and Dean Emeritus.
I served as vice chair of the Faculty Conference and as the chair of the Curriculum, Readmissions, and Self-Study Committees, where I authored the first Cooley Self-Study. I also served on the Committee on Committees and on the Academic Policy, Admissions, Budget, Client Counseling, and Promotion and Tenure Committees, as well as on the Dean's Special Committee on Affiliation.
Before joining WMU-Cooley, I served as administrator for the Office of Criminal Justice Programs for the Michigan Department of Management and Budget from 1972-1975, having previously served there as Deputy Administrator in 1971 and as Director for Program Planning during 1970 and 1971. In 1969 and 1970, I served in the Executive Office of Governor William G. Milliken as the Law Studies Coordinator for the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.
While working in the governor’s office and the Department of Management and Budget, I was a member of the National Conference of State Criminal Justice Planning Agencies, where I served as Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Appropriations and as a member of the Fund Flow Study Group, the Grant Management Information Systems Committee, and the Legislative Committee.
From 1967 to 1969, I served as a Special Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice. As a member of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, I was assigned to the Detroit Organized Crime Strike Force in 1968 and 1969, which was the first full-time deployment made by the Justice Department.
I’ve been a member of the board of directors for the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP, Inc.). I twice served on the executive board of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, first from 1982-1987 and again from 1996 to 2007. I was a member of the board of directors for the Capital Area United Way from 2002 to 2007 and on the board of directors of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce from 2005 to 2007. I also served on the boards of directors for the Cooley Clinic, Inc., in 1995, and the Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic from 1982 to 1987.
From 1977 to 1984, I was a member of the Michigan Corrections Commission, serving as vice-chair in 1978 and chair in 1979. I represented the American Bar Association as a member of the board of Directors for the National Commission on Correctional Health Care from 1990 to 1994, and was a member of the Health Care Policy Board of the Michigan Department of Corrections during 1987 and 1988, serving as chairman in 1987.
From 1979 to 1983, I was a member of the Michigan Commission on Criminal Justice, serving as chair of the Executive Committee, the Improved Justice Process Committee, and the Governor's Committee on Governmental Immunity. I also served on the Incarceration and Alternatives Committee.
I have served as a consultant for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (1994-1996), the Michigan Office of Community Corrections (1992-1994), the Michigan Supreme Court (1990-1991), and the Michigan Law Revision Committee (1987-1991).
I was a Hearing Officer for the Michigan Law Enforcement Officers Training Council (1995-2002), the Michigan Department of Treasury Bureau of State Lottery (1991), the Michigan Department of Public Health (1976-1984), and at various times for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulation. From 1987 to 2002, I also served as an administrative law judge for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
My text, Michigan Administrative Law, is published annually by the West Group. I am also a member of Scribes, the American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects.
I was honored by the Legal Writing Institute with the Golden Pen Award and by the Grand Rapids Bar Association with the President's Award. I also received awards from the Michigan Capitol Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration for Public Service in Academia and from the Michigan Business Monthly for support of entrepreneurialism.
I am a member of the State Bar of Michigan and its Administrative Law, Criminal Law, and Legal Economics sections; the American Bar Association, and its Administrative Law, Criminal Law, and Legal Education sections; the Ingham County Bar Association; the Oakland County Bar Association; the Grand Rapids Bar Association; the Federal Bar Association (Western District of Michigan); and the Thomas M. Cooley Inn of Court.