柑橘直播 Law Mourns the Loss of Former Dean J. Willard O鈥橞rien
J. Willard O鈥橞rien, former Dean of 柑橘直播 University Charles Widger School of Law, passed away peacefully at his home in Wayne, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, December 22. He was 90 years old. O鈥橞rien joined the 柑橘直播 Law faculty in 1965, and in 1972 he was unanimously chosen by faculty to succeed 柑橘直播鈥檚 founding Dean, Harold Gill Reuschlein. Dean O鈥橞rien held the position for 11 years.
鈥淒ean O鈥橞rien served our community as a memorable professor and a visionary dean, and he never stopped giving of himself to 柑橘直播,鈥� said Mark C. Alexander, the current Arthur J. Kania Dean at 柑橘直播 Law. 鈥淲e are a better law school due to the myriad contributions of Dean O鈥橞rien. His days on earth have ended, but his legacy and spirit remain in our community.鈥�
As a professor, Dean O鈥橞rien is remembered as a legendary Torts teacher. He was famous for his style鈥攖hree-piece suits and a gold pocket watch鈥攁 twinkle in his eye, a wry sense of humor, and the Socratic method he used to train first-year students to think critically and speak precisely. During campus unrest in the 1960s, O鈥橞rien was asked to chair a University-wide committee to handle student demands. He proved to be a cool-headed mediator, a practical problem solver, and someone committed to hearing all voices, especially students鈥�, which was unusual at the time.
Under Dean O鈥橞rien鈥檚 leadership, he ushered 柑橘直播 Law into a new era. He significantly expanded the faculty, thus reducing the student-to-faculty ratio, and he professionalized many of 柑橘直播 Law鈥檚 administrative offices. He laid the foundation for more deliberate fundraising efforts and comprehensive alumni engagement. He also made the law school more inclusive, changing the institution from one run exclusively by white men teaching mostly white male students to one where women made up half the student body, and women and minorities came to serve as professors and senior administrators.
In 1983, he resigned as 柑橘直播 Law Dean to become the first Director of the Connelly Institute on Law and Morality, and he also returned to full-time teaching. Dean O鈥橞rien was a member of the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Council on the Holocaust, and also a member of the Canon Law Society and the Order of the Coif. Following his retirement, he continued to participate in 柑橘直播 Law鈥檚 Inn of Court, an organization that promotes professionalism, civility, ethics and legal excellence, and is named in his honor.
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