David Vernon

David Vernon was a distinguished professor and former dean of the University of Iowa College of Law. He was highly respected nationally in his scholarly fields -- contracts and conflict of laws -- and in transnational legal education. He was the author of six books, thirty articles, monographs and book reviews. He was invited as visiting professor at many American law schools as well as at the Durham University, England, and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand as Fulbright Lecturer. He served as president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates, representing AALS. He was also editor of the Journal of Legal Education and chair of the Board of Trustees of the Law School Admissions Council.

Biography

He was born in Boston on August 9, 1925, to Bernard and Ida Cohen Vernon. He and his wife Rhoda, who met in grade school in their native Boston, were married on June 1, 1947, following his freshman year at Harvard. He enrolled thereafter, his return from the U.S. Navy service on a PT boat in the Pacific during World War II. He did not take the standard route to college and law school. He had difficulties in school, and left high school before graduating. When he left the Navy, he was given an IQ test through the G.I. Bill. He literally tested off of the charts in the top 1%. As a result, he followed his father's footsteps and landed at Harvard, and graduated with honors. Following graduation from Harvard College and the Harvard Law School, he began his distinguished teaching career as an instructor at New York University Law School where he received the LLM and SJD degrees. Later he was a professor at the University of Houston Law School and the University of New Mexico before going to the University of Washington Law School as professor and Associate Dean.

Coming to Iowa as Dean of Law and professor in 1966-71, David Vernon was an imaginative leader in a time of growth when the law faculty more than doubled. He championed what he described as the "Graduate College approach" to legal education, characterized by smaller classes and a richer curriculum, enhanced by advanced courses and seminars, and emphasizing much greater individual attention to the development of students' basic professional skills particularly their research and writing. He was instrumental in recruiting minority law students through summer orientation programs at both Iowa and New Mexico.

Mr. Vernon was the Allan D. Vestal Professor of Law from, 1986 to this date and before that was Iowa Law School Foundation Professor. He served as president of the Association of American Law 'Schools (AALS) and delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates, representing AALS. He also was editor of the Journal of Legal Education, and chair of the Board of Trustees of the Law School Admissions Council.

He was respected nationally in his scholarly fields -- contracts and conflict of laws -- and in transnational legal education. He was the author of six books, thirty articles, monographs and book reviews. He was invited as visiting professor at many American law schools as well as the University of Durham, England, and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, as Fulbright Lecturer. In 1997 he received the Collegiate Teaching Award and the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence and in 2001 the Hancher-Finkbine Medallion Award.

Yet in spite of his preference for full-time, teaching, he twice agreed to serve as the University of Iowa's chief academic officer in 1973-74 and 1988-89 and undertook special assignments for four University presidents. Known for his integrity, he worked assiduously effectively to maintain the University's openness in time of campus unrest, to assure due process for faculty and students, and to promote Civil Rights throughout the University.

After battling cancer, he died of pneumonia Monday, November 5, 2001, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Dave and Rhoda's children are Amy Vernon and Charles Vernon and his wife Alyse, and their grandchildren are Nathan, Carly, and Michael.

Bibliography

BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS

Co-editor of General State Food and Drug Laws Annotated, with Franklin M. Depew. Chicago, IL: Commerce Clearing House, 1955, xii, 804 pages.

The Uniform Commercial Code and New Mexico. Article 2, Sales. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico, 1956, 30 pages.

Conflict of Laws: Cases, Problems and Essays. New York, NY: Matthew Bender, 1973; Conflict of Laws: Theory and Practice, 2d ed., New York, NY: Matthew Bender, 1982; Conflict of Laws: Cases, Materials and Problems, with Louise Weinberg, William L. Reynolds and William M. Richman. New York, NY: Matthew Bender, 1990, xxiii, 753, 208 pages.

Contracts: Theory and Practice. New York, NY: Matthew Bender, 1980, 1089 pages; 2d ed., New York, NY: Matthew Bender, 1991, xxxix, 891, 104 pages.

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS

"Exploration Contracts," with Ben Schantz, in American Law of Mining. New York, NY: Matthew Bender, 1960, vol. 3, at 1, 71 pages.

ARTICLES IN LAW REVIEWS AND OTHER SCHOLARLY JOURNALS

"Labyrinthine Ways: The Handling of Food, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Cases by the Federal Trade Commission Since 1938," 8 Food Drug Cosmetic Law Journal 367 (1953), 27 pages.

"Regulated Credit Life and Disability Insurance and the Small Loan," 29 New York University Law Review 1098 (1954), 23 pages.

"Marshalling of Real Security Interests," 1 Howard Law Journal 172 (1955), 22 pages.

"Report on the First Tentative Draft of the Uniform Statute of Limitations on Foreign Claims Act," 3 Wayne Law Review 187 (1957), 18 pages.

"The Uniform Statute of Limitations on Foreign Claims Act: A Discussion of Section Two," 4 St. Louis University Law Journal 442 (1957), 22 pages.

"Some Constitutional Problems in the Conflict of Laws and Statutes of Limitation," 7 Journal of Public Law 120 (1958), 15 pages.

"The Uniform Statute of Limitations on Foreign Claims Act: Tolling Problems," 12 Vanderbilt Law Review 971 (1959), 25 pages.

"Statutes of Limitation in the Conflict of Laws: Borrowing Statutes," 32 Rocky Mountain Law Review 287 (1960), 42 pages.

"Annulment of Marriages in New Mexico: Part I: Jurisdiction," 1 Natural Resources Journal 146 (1961), 17 pages.

"Labyrinthine Ways: Jurisdiction to Annul," 10 Journal of Public Law 47 (1961), 31 pages.

"Annulment of Marriages in New Mexico: Part II: Proposed Statute," 2 Natural Resources Journal 270 (1962), 51 pages.

"Recorded Chattel Security Interests in the Conflict of Laws," 47 Iowa Law Review 346 (1962), 36 pages.

"Annulment of Marriage: A Proposed Model Act," 12 Journal of Public Law 143 (1963), 42 pages.

"Priorities, the Uniform Commercial Code and Consumer Financing," 4 Boston College Industrial and Commercial Law Review 531 (1963), 25 pages.

"The Uniform Commercial Code: Some New Mexico Problems and Proposed Legislative Solutions," 3 Natural Resources Journal 487 (1964), 33 pages.

Introduction to "Conflict of Laws Round Table: A Symposium," 57 Iowa Law Review 1220 (1972), 9 pages.

"The Expanding Curriculum Committee: Attempts by the Bench and Bar to Control Legal Education," 1 Journal of the Legal Profession 7 (1976), 20 pages.

"Expectancy Damages for Breach of Contract: A Primer and Critique," 1976 Washington University Law Quarterly 179, 78 pages.

"Guidelines for Preserving the English Language," with N. William Hines, 4 Learning and the Law 26 (1977), 3 pages.

"Single-Factor Bases of In Personam Jurisdiction -- A Speculation on the Impact of Shaffer v. Heitner," 1978 Washington University Law Quarterly 273, 46 pages.

"State Court Jurisdiction: A Preliminary Inquiry Into the Impact of Shaffer v. Heitner," 63 Iowa Law Review 997 (1978), 44 pages.

"The Importance of Intellectual Diversity to Educational Quality," 32 Journal of Legal Education 89 (1982), 6 pages.

"A Week to Remember: Of Pregnant Cows, Slipped Horses, Sterile Bulls, Chickens, Heifers and the Human Animal," 32 Journal of Legal Education 403 (1982), 10 pages.

"Education for Proficiency: The Continuum," 33 Journal of Legal Education 559 (1983), 11 pages.

"Ethics in Academe--Afton Dekanal," 34 Journal of Legal Education 205 (1984), 10 pages.

"Anatomy of Legal Education (Report of the Tunks Committee): The Way We Were and the Way We Are," 60 Washington Law Review 571 (1985), 15 pages.

Report on "The Demand for Legal Education: 1984 and the Future," with Bruce I. Zimmer, 35 Journal of Legal Education 261 (1985), 39 pages.

"The Size and Quality of the Law School Applicant Pool: 1982-1986 and Beyond," with Bruce I. Zimmer, 1987 Duke Law Journal 204, 37 pages.

"Educational Debt Burden: Law School Assistance Programs--A Review of Existing Programs and a Proposed New Approach," 39 Journal of Legal Education 743 (1989), 29 pages.

"The Free Marketplace of Ideas: Why Is It So Illusive?" 21 Journal of the Legal Profession 7 (1997), 16 pages.

BOOK REVIEWS

Review of Cases on the Law of Contracts, by Laurence P. Simpson. 35 Texas Law Review 156 (1956), 3 pages.

Review of Vagaries and Varieties in Constitutional Interpretation, by Thomas Reed Powell. 35 Texas Law Review 300 (1956), 6 pages.

Review of The Sanctity of Life and the Criminal Law, by Glanville Williams. 11 Vanderbilt Law Review 962 (1958), 1 page.

Review of Selected Essays on Conflict of Laws, by Brainerd Currie. 16 Hastings Law Journal 636 (1968), 13 pages.

REPORTS TO GOVERNMENTAL BODIES AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

"Criminal Justice: The Criminal Code and the Courts," by Criminal Justice Division with co- members William F. Sueppel, Mrs. Harold Goldman, and Justice M.L. Mason (and) "Additional Views of Individual Commission Members," in Iowa Crime Commission Report 1968: Criminal Justice in Iowa: Crime Prevention and Control. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Crime Commission, 1968, at 54, 10 pages, and 97, 11 pages.

An Outline for Post-Sale Consumer Legislation in New Zealand: A Report to the Minister of Justice. Iowa City, IA, 1987, 33 pages.

External links

• David H. Vernon Memorial Page