Donald J. Dunn, Dean of University of La Verne College of Law, Dies at 62

Donald J. Dunn died Saturday at his home in Orange County of complications related to cancer. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, son, Kevin, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. Our sympathies go out to his family, friends and colleagues. [JH]

From the University of La Verne College of Law announcement:

Dean Dunn began his 38-year career 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, he joined Western New England College (WNEC) School of Law in Springfield, Mass. as law librarian and assistant professor of law. By 1996, Dunn had been promoted on the faculty three times and was named the law school’s Interim Dean. Two years later, he became dean of WNEC School of Law, making him one of two law librarians in history to also serve as a law school dean. In 2001, Dunn retired as dean and in 2002 became Western New England College School of Law’s Associate Dean for Library and Information Resources while continuing as a professor of law.

While at Western New England College School of Law, Dean Dunn was an active member in the American Bar Association (ABA) and, in 1977, began serving as an ABA site evaluator for law schools seeking national accreditation. Cumulatively, he served on over 40 site evaluation teams, was the chair of five of those teams and was the sole evaluator for three summer abroad programs: Moscow, Beijing and Cape Town, South Africa.

In 2003, Donald Dunn and his wife, Cheryl, moved to Southern California, and Dunn joined the University of La Verne as dean and professor of law at the College of Law. While at ULV, the experienced ABA site evaluator worked with university administrators and the law school’s faculty to guide the California bar-accredited law school through the difficult process of applying for national accreditation. The attempt was successful and on February 13, 2006, the American Bar Association granted ULV College of Law provisional ABA approval, allowing ULV’s graduates to begin receiving all the same rights and privileges as students graduating from fully ABA-approved law schools.