The John Marshall Law School has established its first academic chair, the Edward T. and Noble W. Lee Chair in Constitutional Law, honoring them for their many years of service to the law school, their contributions to legal education, and their shared interest in constitutional law.
Edward T. and Noble W. Lee dedicated their adult lives to The John Marshall Law School. Edward T. Lee was one of its founders in 1899 and later served as dean for 34 years. Noble W. Lee followed in his father’s footsteps, first serving as a member of the faculty and then as dean for 30 years, in addition to service in the Illinois Legislature. Together they dedicated more than 90 years of service to John Marshall students and the legal community.
The endowment of the Edward T. and Noble W. Lee Chair in Constitutional Law is made possible by generous gifts from the extended Lee Family and alumni and friends of The John Marshall Law School.
The establishment of the chair is a celebration of “both an ideal and belief that the protection of the law should be immediately available and of evident access,” said Nancy Lee Johnson, granddaughter of Edward T. Lee. The Lee chair “will act to provide a continued framework for a deeper understanding of the rule of law,” she added.
In spring 2011, the law school will name the first professor to hold the chair. It is anticipated that the visiting professor will advance the law school’s traditions of innovation and equality in legal education, and will generate and publish scholarly research of relevant constitutional issues.
