Kathleen F. Brickey, J.D., the James Carr Professor of Criminal Jurisprudence and a member of the search committee that helped select Ellis as dean, said Ellis' achievements have exceeded her greatest expectations.
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"The most visible enduring legacy Dan leaves the school is, of course, a world-class teaching and research facility," she said. "Anheuser-Busch Hall provides an enormous boost to the school in pursuing the essential tasks of recruiting students, attracting and retaining the best faculty, serving as a venue for important national and international academic and professional conferences and instilling a sense of pride, proprietorship and enterprise among our alumni. The school has progressed on a number of other fronts as well, not the least of which is a faculty that has grown in size, strength and stature during his tenure."
When he became dean in July 1987, Ellis' most pressing goal was to replace the cramped and inadequate teaching, learning and research environment at Mudd Hall. Ellis' efforts -- along with those of faculty, students, University administrators and alumni -- led to the creation of Anheuser-Busch Hall, at a total project cost of $40 million. The 175,000-square-foot facility, which combines the latest technological advances with traditional collegiate gothic architecture, opened for classes in January 1997. Now, more than a year later, Ellis said the building has proved a major success.
"We conceived of what it could be, and we got our dream with this building," Ellis said. "The place just feels good. There's a warmth to it, and it works so splendidly. It's a pleasure teaching in the classrooms, the state-of-the-art technology is being used more and more, the library and academic resources center is among the best in today's law schools, the students are taking advantage of the courtyard and the wooden benches throughout the building to congregate after class and, beyond all that, it's a facility that can be easily adapted for the future."
Third-year law student Michael Downey, who served as Ellis' research assistant, said he appreciates having had the dean as a mentor and the direction in which Ellis has taken the school.
"He built a great building, and he drastically improved the school overall," Downey said. "By improving the student body and faculty, Dean Ellis has positioned the school to move forward academically. The next dean will have a great opportunity to build on that momentum."
Stephen H. Legomsky, J.D., D. Phil., the Charles F. Nagel Professor of International Law, stressed Ellis' dedication to legal scholarship and maintaining a strong and diverse faculty.
"Dan Ellis has been outstanding," Legomsky said. "When he arrived, our faculty had three women and one minority member, and we were living in Mudd Hall. Ten years later, we have 17 women and four minority faculty members, and, through Dan's tireless efforts, we're now living in one of the most beautiful and most functional law buildings in the world. Apart from all that, our student body is far more selective, our faculty more productive and the whole atmosphere much more intellectually vibrant."
Of the current 31 tenured and tenure-track professors at the school, nearly half were hired during Ellis' term as dean. Ellis also strengthened the school's interdisciplinary teaching through joint-degree programs with East Asian studies and European studies, both in Arts and Sciences, and with the Environmental Engineering Program in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Other highlights of his tenure include:
- increasing substantially the number and scope of the school's lawyering skills courses;
- strengthening the first-year legal research and writing program;
- merging computer and library services into a leading department of information resources;
- overseeing a long-range planning report;
- twice managing a self-study and re-accreditation process;
- hosting numerous legal conferences featuring eminent scholars and practitioners;
- expanding the school's international ties through broadened faculty teaching and scholarship and advanced degree programs for lawyers from other countries.
Jean C. Hamilton, law school alumna and chief judge of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, said Ellis' efforts are much appreciated. "Dan Ellis has shown alumni, in particular, that by working together with faculty, staff and students at the law school we can achieve our highest goals," said Hamilton, who serves on the school's National Council, founded by Ellis. "Because of Dan Ellis, our law school is an excellent institution, clearly ready to excel in the new century."
In addition to his administrative duties, Ellis has served as a professor of law, teaching in the areas of torts, product liability and antitrust. While his main body of research focuses on punitive damages, he also has published in the areas of constitutional history, torts, antitrust and law and economics.
Ellis came to Washington University from the University of Iowa, where he was vice president for finance and university services, special assistant to the president, acting assistant dean of the faculties and a professor of law. He previously had practiced law for five years in New York.
Ellis received a law degree from the University of Chicago in 1963 and a bachelor's degree from Maryville College in Tennessee in 1960. A former vice chair of the Board of Directors at Maryville and a recipient of its Distinguished Alumni Award, Ellis will deliver the commencement speech and receive an honorary doctorate from the college this spring.
