Volume 25, Number 1
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
May, 1981
BRUCE JACOB, '59, WILL SUCCEED DILLON AS DEAN
Dean of Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer
University, Assumes Duties at Stetson, July 15
Twenty-two years after graduating from Stetson College of Law, Bruce Jacob,
'59, will return to his Alma Mater as dean, succeeding Richard T. Dillon, who,
after holding down the top college administrative post since September, 1968,
has opted to devote his full time to teaching as the first Charles A. Dana Professor of Law.
Jacob, presently Dean and Professor of Law at the Walter F. George School
DEAN MEETS DEAN. Bruce Jacob (right) responds with a smile as Dean Dillon heartily
greets him with "best wishes and all my
headaches."
of Law, Mercer University, has had a
brilliant career since graduating number two in his class at Stetson. It is
difficult to determine which should
be considered the more significant
achievements from a resume that has
111 separate listings, but the following statistics are exceedingly impressive: LL.M., Northwestern University
School of Law; S.J.D., Harvard Law
School; professor and administrator
at three law schools, Ohio State, Mercer and Emory; practitioner with the
firm of Holland Bevis and Smith, Bartow and Lakeland; counsel in many
appellate court cases, including representing the respondent in Gideon v.
Wainright (1963) and petitioner
(1969) in Kaufman v. United States
before the United States Supreme
Court; author of more than a dozen
published books and articles; speaker
at numerous state and national conferences; and special hearing officer.
United States Department of Justice,
in conscientious objector cases.
Specialist in Criminal Law
The new dean is deeply interested
in the criminal justice system and programs that provide legal assistance
for indigents. At Ohio State, as director of clinical programs, he represented numerous defendants and appellants in criminal cases and petitioners in post-conviction cases. At
Emory he established a Legal Assistance for Inmates Program, for the
benefit of indigents in the Atlanta
Penitentiary. At Mercer he has taught
Criminal Defense Practice and Criminal
Appeals and post-conviction Remedies.
Six Months' Search
A search committee chaired by Professor Calvin Kuenzel recommended
Dean Jacob's name to President Pope
Duncan after a six months' search for
the best possible person to succeed
Dean Dillon.
The committee consisted of Amory
Underhill, '36, chairman of the Board
of Overseers; Cecil Bailey, '27, president (since retired) of the Charles A.
Dana Law Center Foundation; Dr. Earl
Edington, past president of the Board
of Trustees of the University; Dr. Douglas Lee, vice president for development, as representative of the entire
University; and four college of Law
faculty members, Professors E. McGruder Faris, Ruth Thurman, Robert Bickel,
and William R. Eleazer. Commending
the committee for its "splendid work"
in seeking out, interviewing and
screening applicants, President Duncan said, "I am convinced that we
have a man eminently qualified to
lead our law school in building upon
the strong tradition of excellence
which Dean Dillon leaves with us."
The committee emphasized that the
new dean's being a graduate from
Stetson had little bearing upon his
selection. "We were looking for the
best possible man we could find for
the position," stated Professor Kuenzel. "The fact that he once took a
course at Stetson taught by Dean Dillon and was the Dean's student assistant when he taught a course in
legal research and writing is a bit of
interesting history that was not, however, of persuasive value to us."
FLORIDA BAR MEMBERS
When confronted with baffling
problems of law, Dean Designate Jacob can always turn to his wife for
legal advice. The former Ann Wear of
Lakeland is a member of the Florida
Bar.
Jacob himself is a member of the
bars of Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts
and Ohio. He has also been admitted
to practice before the U. S. Supreme
Court, the Courts of Appeals, 5th and
6th Circuits, and the District Courts
for the Northern District of Georgia,
the Southern District of Ohio and the
District of Massachusetts.
MESSAGE TO ALUMNI
/ consider it an honor and a welcome challenge to have the opportunity to serve my Alma Mater as
its next dean. The law school has
made remarkable progress during
the administration of my former
teacher and good friend, Richard T.
Dillon, successor to Harold L. Sebring, who was dean when I enrolled as a student. I will make
every effort to conduct the administration of the school in a manner
that will further enhance Stetson's
record of achievement, and the
national reputation it has so justly
earned during the tenure of these
two outstanding men.
. . . Bruce Jacob
