Ave Maria Law Dean Welcomes New Board Members

Email from Dean Bernard Dobranski, dated August 8, 2007:
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I am pleased to announce the addition of five new members to our Board of Governors. From the very beginning of the Law School’s existence we have been blessed with great Board members who are accomplished in their various fields and committed to the success of our institution. I am confident these new Board members will continue that tradition.

Please join me in welcoming:

The Hon. Judge Patrick J. Conlin. Judge Conlin was chief judge of the Washtenaw County Circuit Court before retiring in 1998. Before that he served as a Washtenaw County District Court Judge. Judge Conlin received both his Juris Doctor degree and his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.

Mr. Thomas B. Garlick. Mr. Garlick is managing partner of Garlick, Stetler & Peeples, LLP, a Naples, Florida-based law firm. He practices primarily in the areas of commercial and residential real estate, real estate development, land use law, corporate and general business law, civil litigation and mediation. Mr. Garlick graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center and received his undergraduate degree from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York.

Major General John T. (Mike) Coyne. General Coyne is a retired Major General in the United States Marine Corps where he held various positions, including Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs and Deputy Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command. In civilian life he was Managing partner of the law firm Jordan Coyne & Savits. General Coyne also graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center and received his undergraduate degree from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York.

Mr. Leonard A. Leo. Mr. Leo is executive vice-president of the Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies. Mr. Leo is also co-editor with James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal of Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and Worst in the White House. Mr. Leo received both his Juris Doctor degree and his undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

Mrs. Cathy Cleaver Ruse. Mrs. Ruse was formerly chief spokesperson on human life issues for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. She was chief counsel to the House of Representative Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and is currently Senior Fellow for Legal Studies at the Family Research Council. Mrs. Ruse graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center and received her undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa.

These new members joined the Board of Governors at its meeting last week, the first regularly scheduled Board meeting since the relocation decision.

Sadly, the Board has accepted the resignations of five members because of the term-limits policy and for personal reasons. Those leaving the Board are: Professor Helen M. Alvaré, Professor of Law, Catholic University of America; Professor Gerard V. Bradley, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame; Reverend Joseph D. Fessio, S.J.; Professor Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University; and Reverend Michael Scanlan, T.O.R. And, as many of you know, Mr. Bowie Kuhn, a dear friend of the Law School and a Board of Governor member, passed away in March.

I thank these former members of the Board of Governors for their exemplary service to the Law School during this important time in its history. Their contributions have been immeasurable and they will be missed. All of these living, departing Board members are invited to join the Board of Advisors, which will advise and consult with the Board of Governors and myself.

I am pleased to welcome back for continuing service the following Board members: Dr. Michael M. Uhlmann, Visiting Professor of American Government, Claremont Graduate University; Mr. Thomas S. Monaghan, Chairman of the Board, Ave Maria Foundation; Dean Bernard Dobranski, President and Founding Dean, Ave Maria School of Law; Mr. William F. Harrington, Chairman, Bleakley Platt & Schmidt, LLP; Mr. Peter A. Carfagna, Senior Counsel, Calfee, Halter & Griswold, LLP; Mrs. Kate W. O’Beirne, Washington Editor, The National Review; His Eminence Adam Cardinal Maida, Archbishop of Detroit; and His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York.

In addition to the new Board members, there will be newly hired professors, RWA lecturers, and staff at the Law School this fall. I am confident these new additions will contribute energy and dedication to the institution, and provide outstanding service to our Law School.