Class of 1972, Member of Board of Visitors and Hall of Fame 2021

From law school days, I remember Professor Cohen’s Administrative Law classes and his discussion of Goldberg v. Kelly and I am sure the entire school community heard what he said in that class. I remember the late Professor Sheard’s constitutional law class and our discussion of the First Amendment when he remarked to me that I was looking at the case in terms of black and white and I responded that I preferred to think of the case in terms of Black and Douglas. I remember the late Professor Goshien’s tax class which to my great relief was taught in terms of how tax laws reflected public policy rather than filling out tax forms and, for me, those discussions made the subject very important and understandable. I remember Professor Werber’s Conflicts of Law course that has become very relevant given today’s issues of one state being able to enforce its criminal laws in another state (see abortion cases). I remember Adjunct Professor Sindell’s Evidence classes in which he was able to teach evidence principles using the Kent State case he was trying at the same time. I am grateful to Dean Emeritus Steinglass for recruiting me to get involved in the law school by joining the then National Advisory Council, which later merged with the Board of Visitors and I am awed by the innovative programs initiated or improved by Dean Fisher. And most of all, I am forever grateful for the opportunities this school gave me to live my dreams.

Family of former faculty

Associate Dean Carroll H. Sierk was proud of Cleveland-Marshall Law School the entirety of his nearly thirty-year tenure (1968 to 1996) and stayed engaged and supportive until his death in 2007. At the time of his hire, my father was on the ground floor of developing the law school\'s partnership with Cleveland State University. His focus on student opportunity had brought the family here in 1968, as administrators at his previous law school in Georgia had bluntly advised he would fit in much better up North. Sierk did not subscribe to their institutionalized racism against students of color nor to the “Gentleman’s C’s” gifted to the sons of donors. Once, after sharing this story to students in one of my own English classes, one of my students, a man in his 70\'s, told me that he had repeated the account to his wife, who had been a prominent Cleveland attorney. She remembered my father very well as the go-to guy for non-traditional students. That is not the only time that someone has recognized my not-so-common last name and shared the positive impact my father had.

Staff Member

Happy 125th! Can\'t wait to join the 125th Scholarship Circle!