Donald J. Dunn, dean and professor of law at Ontario, California-based University of LaVerne College of Law, passed away on January 5, 2008, at his home in Orange County, of complications related to lung cancer. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, son, Kevin, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. He was 62.
It is with deep sadness that this news is shared amongst the law librarian community, where Don made so many contributions. Don was a nationally-recognized law librarian - a most passionate and vocal law librarian. He was a mentor, colleague, and friend to many of us in the law library community and he brought vision and leadership to his dedication to law librarianship and legal education. Don will also be remembered for his kindness, decency, integrity, and gentle humor. His death is a great loss to the law library and legal community nationally.
Don’s career spanned over 38 years, beginning at the University of Texas at Austin’s Tarlton Law Library in 1969. In 1972, he earned his Master’s of Library Science from University of Texas at Austin and became supervising librarian in its Criminal Justice Reference Library. In the summer of 1973, Don was hired as the first law librarian at the Western New England College School of Law, in Springfield, Massachusetts, to assist in its transformation from a state-accredited evening law school to an ABA-accredited and AALS-member law school. From an initial small library in the gymnasium in temporary quarters on Tinkham Road in Springfield, Don built the library at Western New England College School of Law into a nationally-recognized academic and professional law library, with a large and deep collection and a strong tradition of outstanding service. During his tenure, Don was both a student at the Law School, earning his J.D. in 1983, and also a valued member of the law school faculty, serving as Professor of Law for over 30 years.
For those of us who were lucky enough to work with Don during his tenure as the Library Director, we were rewarded with his keen leadership and vision. He shared his philosophy of service with us in his own actions, where every means and effort was used to provide the faculty and students with the most efficient service possible. Don had a contagious vitality that was at once inspiring and brought out the best in us all. He was an individual who made every one of us feel critical to the mission of the law school. He was most supportive and encouraging of the work of others, cheering us on whether it was for our publishing efforts or earning academic degrees. He was truly proud of his staff and their accomplishments. He rewarded several of us with the opportunity to write chapters in his highly regarded text Fundamentals of Legal Research. It was typical of Don to encourage some of us more “junior” law librarians to take on this responsibility.
In 1996, Don was named interim dean, leaving the law library. While we were sad to see him go, he would not be far, and we had great fun for several weeks ringing out the alliteration “Dean Don Dunn” whenever we passed him in the halls. We were as proud of him as he had always been of us. Two years later, Don was appointed Dean of the Western New England College School of Law, making him one of only two law librarians to also serve as a law school dean. His prior work as a librarian and faculty member, and his experience as an evening law student, informed his deanship and helped guide his actions to strengthen the School of Law. Don was a strong administrator who served effectively and energetically for five years. In 2001 he retired as Dean and returned to the Library as Associate Dean for Library and Information Resources.
Don was a prolific writer over the years, and a recognized scholar, with more than 60 books, articles and papers to his credit. In 2006, the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) honored Don and his mentor and co-author, Roy Mersky of the University of Texas, for their Fundamentals of Legal Research, 8th ed., 2002, which was voted one of the most influential texts in legal research over the last 50 years (1957 - 2006) by the AALL’s Academic Law Librarians Special Interest Section. This text, published by Foundation Press, is frequently used in both first year and advanced research courses in law schools and can be found in virtually all law library collections.
An active member in the American Bar Association, in 1977 Don began serving as an ABA site evaluator for law schools seeking national accreditation. He served on over 40 site evaluation teams, was the chair of five of these teams and was the sole evaluator for three summer abroad programs: Moscow, Beijing, and Cape Town, South Africa.
Don was a 38-year member of the American Association of Law Librarians and served on over 25 AALL committees and subcommittees contributing to the advancement of law librarianship, legal education, and the legal profession. In addition, he was an active member of the ABA Law Libraries Committee of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar from 1988-1994 and served as its chair for three of those years.
In 2003, Don and Cheryl moved to Southern California and Don joined the University of LaVerne as dean and professor of law at its College of Law, a position he held until his death. While at LaVerne, Don played a key role in the law school’s attainment of provisional accreditation from the ABA in February 2006. While we missed Don here at Western New England College School of Law, he once again made us proud as we watched his new accomplishments from afar.
Don’s death is a great loss to our Western New England College School of Law community, where his imprint is visible everywhere. Don’s presence here has had a profound and lasting affect. To help us honor and remember Don and to share our memories and thoughts of him, Western New England College School of Law will hold a memorial service at the School of Law in the spring. A scholarship in Don’s name, providing financial support for deserving scholars, is one way we plan to continue to keep Don’s memory alive. Friends and colleagues wishing to make memorial contributions to the Western New England College School of Law’s Donald J. Dunn Endowed Scholarship Fund should direct them to the attention of JoAnne O’Neil, Advancement Division, Western New England College, 1215 Wilbraham Road, Springfield, MA 01119. JoAnne may be reached at joneil0@wnec.edu.
