Charles R. Grant
1921-1929 |
Judge Charles R. Grant served as the first dean of the School of Law from its founding in 1921 until his death in 1929.
Born in Connecticut, Judge Grant learned the trade of a shoemaker from his father. At the age of 15, he traveled with his older brother, a member of the Union Army when his regiment participated in the capture of New Orleans. He remained in Louisiana and served as a courier, often coming under enemy fire. His war services were officially recognized by Congress in 1914. In 1863, Grant moved to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He graduated from Western Reserve College (then in Hudson, Ohio) and read law with a local judge. He became one of Akron’s leading lawyers. During his diverse career, he served as a newspaper editor, probate judge, and Judge of the original Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals. |
Judge Grant became dean at the age of seventy-five. The Akron Law School began with 12 faculty members and 30 students. Judge Grant’s personal law library became the core of the School of Law's first library. Dean Grant taught Elementary Law to all first-year students and Constitutional Law to fourth-year students.
| The original Akron Law School building still stands on East Market Street. After the Akron Law School - University of Akron merger, the School of Law moved to The University of Akron campus. |
 |
|
An Akron Law School class in 1928. |
Charles A. Neale served as the business manager of the School of Law and became its second dean. He received a degree in education in 1906 and taught in business colleges in Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia. Though he studied law with a lawyer in Kentucky, he received formal legal education at Baldwin-Wallace in Berea, Ohio from which he received his LL.B. in 1926.
When Dean Neale became dean in 1929, he served also as the president of a business college. During his term as dean, enrollment at the School of Law grew to over 200 students.
|
Charles A. Neale
1929-1938 |
Oscar Hunsicker
1938-1959 |
Judge Oscar Hunsicker became the School of Law's third dean. Born in Wooster, Ohio in 1898, Judge Hunsicker graduated from The University of Akron and the Western Reserve University School of Law. Before becoming dean, he served as city solicitor for Mogadore, Ohio and served as a Summit County Prosecutor. In 1930, Judge Hunsicker won election to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas where he served until elected to the Court of Appeals in 1946.
Judge Hunsicker served on the School of Law's faculty beginning in 1928. He became dean in 1938 and served as dean for the next 21 years, until 1959. Under his leadership, the School of Law prospered. Dean Hunsicker helped bring about the merger of the Akron Law School with The University of Akron.
|
Students studying in the Akron Law School Library in 1957. |
|
A 1950s Akron Law School Class. |
|
Stanley A. Samad (dean, 1959-1979) came to The University of Akron after having served as dean of the Franklin (now Capital) Law School. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Cincinnati, he received two LL.M. degrees, one from Cincinnati and one from New York University, where he also received a J.S.D. Dean Samad served with the Army Air Corps during World War II. He began his law school teaching career at Ohio Northern University.
During Dean Samad’s tenure as dean, the School of Law received ABA accreditation and AALS membership, moved into a new building in 1973, and established a day program. The full-time faculty expanded from just three members to over 20 and the School of Law established a Clinical Program staffed by full-time faculty members and attorneys.
Ariel view of the law school building before the library and atrium additions
 Albert S. Rakas (Interim Dean 1979-1981) came to the Law School following a distinguished military career in the United States Army, including service as Commandant of the Army JAG school. Dean Rakas served the Law School as Director of the Clinic, and Associate Dean. Dean Rakas guided the Law School through a critical time in its history. During his tenure, the Law School established joint degrees with the College of Business Administration and the Department of Urban Studies and continuing legal education programs expanded. The Law School also established its separate graduation ceremony during this time.
Donald M. Jenkins (’64) (dean, 1981-1987) remains the only Akron Law School graduate to serve as its dean . Dean Jenkins' pre-dean career included service as a bomber-pilot during the Korean War, teaching in The University of Akron’s College of Business Administration, and receiving an LL.M. from Case Western Reserve University.
Dean Jenkins served as the founding advisor to the Akron Law Review. Under his leadership, the School of Law established smaller class sizes, created a strategic plan, enriched tax offerings, and built an addition to the law library that doubled its size. Also, Congress designated the School of Law with one of only four Constitutional Law Resource Centers in the nation.
Isaac C. Hunt, Jr. (dean, 1987-1995) brought a varied work background to Akron. Dean Hunt taught at Catholic University, worked at Jones Day, served as deputy general counsel of the United States Army, and served as dean of the Antioch College of Law.
Dean Hunt’s tenure saw changes in many areas, from the curriculum to the building. Most notably, the 1973 School of Law building expanded and joined West Hall through a new atrium, creating a unified School of Law building. Akron sent its first Professor to Wolverhampton, England as part of the School of Law's international exchange program. The School of Law's tutoring program began and has evolved into the Academic Success Program.
President Clinton nominated Dean Hunt to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Senate confirmed his appointment in January 1996. President Bush reappointed Dean Hunt in 2002.
The Law School after the library and atrium additions.
 
The law student lounge, then and now.
.jpg)
|
|
Richard L. Aynes (dean, 1995-2007) held positions as coordinator of clinical education, associate dean, interim university athletic director, and Seiberling Chair in Constitutional Law prior to becoming dean. Dean Aynes again holds the Seiberling Chair on a continuing basis.
Dean Aynes has been active on the local, state and national level. He currently serves on a Task Force of the Akron Bar Association to review the procedures by which the Bar Association evaluates judges for elections. He recently completed service on the Ohio Supreme court’s Task Force on Racial Fairness and is currently serving a second term on the Ohio Supreme court’s Commission on Continuing Legal Education. He is currently completing his sixth term on the American Bar Association’s Questionnaire Committee. While dean, he has continued to be an active scholar, publishing articles, essays, book reviews and book chapters.
Additional Information
|
