November 14, 2003

Legal scholars invested with endowments

The Rev. William J. Byron, S.J., interim president of Loyola University New Orleans, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Walter Harris, and Law Dean Brian Bromberger presided over the investitures of David W. Gruning, invested with the Louisiana Outside Counsel Health and Ethics Foundation Distinguished Professorship; Bobby M. Harges, invested with the Adams & Reese Distinguished Professorship II; M. Isabel Medina, invested with the Ferris Family Distinguished Professorship; Dian Tooley, invested with the Jones Walker Distinguished Professorship; and Jeanne M. Woods, invested with the Henry F. Bonura, Jr. Distinguished Professorship at a ceremony in the law school last Friday.

David W. Gruning received his bachelor of arts degree in 1973 from Wesleyan University (Connecticut); in 1975, he earned his master of arts degree from Middlebury College and in 1982, he received his juris doctor from Tulane University, where he graduated Order of the Coif and magna cum laude. He served as articles editor of the Tulane Law Review and also received the Harris Award for student writing on the civil law. After four years of commercial practice with the law firm of Stone, Pigman, Walther, Wittmann & Hutchinson in New Orleans, he joined the Loyola faculty in 1986. He has taught several courses in the civil and common law curricula, with current interests in contract and commercial law, comparative law, and matrimonial property. He has lectured in Lyon, France, at the Center for Family Law and at the Institute for Comparative Law.

In summer 2002, the Louisiana Outside Counsel Health and Ethics Foundation announced a gift to each of the four law schools in the state of Louisiana. The funds were made possible through the 1998, $206 billion settlement reached between plaintiff states and major tobacco companies. With this funding, Loyola was able to endow the Louisiana Outside Counsel Health and Ethics Foundation Distinguished Professorship in the field of legal ethics and/or professionalism.

Bobby Marzine Harges graduated from Mississippi State University in 1982 where he received a bachelor degree of science degree. In 1986, he received his juris doctor degree from the University of Mississippi, and in 1990, he received an LL.M. from Harvard University. Prior to his arrival at Loyola, Harges practiced law in New Orleans with Deutsch Kerrigan and Stiles, specializing in civil and construction litigation. He also taught at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Before entering law school, he worked as an electrical engineer. Harges' research, consulting, and teaching interests include mediation and arbitration, evidence, torts, criminal law, and criminal procedure. He is co-founder of the Loyola Mediation Clinic and also serves as the director of Loyola's Academy for Alternative Dispute Resolution Studies.

The Adams and Reese Distinguished Professorship II was made possible by the law firm of Adams and Reese, and individual attorneys within the firm who contributed to an effort to raise money for a professorship in the School of Law. So successful was the drive, that enough funds were raised to create two professorships.

M. Isabel Medina received her bachelor of arts degree in 1977 from Monash University (Australia). In 1979, she earned her master of arts from the University of New Orleans, followed by a master of fine arts degree in 1980. She then attended Tulane Law School where she earned her juris doctor in 1987. Medina joined the law school faculty in 1991 after practicing law with Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C. Upon her graduation from law school, she clerked for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Medina teaches constitutional law, employment and gender discrimination law, and immigration law. Professor Medina visited the University of Athens School of Law in Greece as a Fulbright Spring 2003 Scholar.

The Ferris Distinguished Professorship in Law was established in 2001 by a gift of stock by Cornelius and Maureen Ferris, parents of David Ferris, L'96. David is a member of the Loyola Board of Trustees.

Dian Tooley earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1977 from Southeastern Louisiana University. In 1980, she received her juris doctor from Louisiana State University. Tooley served as an executive editor of the Louisiana Law Review. From 1980 until 1981, she clerked for Chief Justice John Dixon of the Louisiana Supreme Court, and from 1981 until 1984, she served as an attorney in the legal department of Shell Oil Company. Tooley's career with Loyola University New Orleans School of Law began in 1984. Her areas of expertise are community property, mineral law, and property.

The Jones Walker Distinguished Professorship was established through many gifts from attorneys with the law firm of Jones Walker as well as a generous gift from the firm. The purpose of this professorship is to promote excellence in teaching and scholarship in law.

Jeanne M. Woods received her bachelor of arts degree in 1974 from Antioch College. In 1981, she received her juris doctor from Temple University. Woods was employed as legislative counsel with the National Office of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, D.C., from 1989 until 1993. She began teaching at Loyola in 1993 in the areas of constitutional law, torts, national security law, international law, administration of criminal justice, international human rights, and the First Amendment.

In 1998 Pamela R. Bonura established a fund to create a professorship in memory of her son, Henry Bonura, Jr. Mr. Bonura graduated from the School of Law in 1971, and passed away in 1992. This professorship is known as the Henry Bonura, Jr., Distinguished Professorship.