A Tribute to a Legend:  With Professor John Brumbaugh\u27s passing in early August, the School of Law marks the end of an era.  In the words of colleagues and former students, he is remembered as the heart and soul of the School

Leary, Betty Lynne

English

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"I will always remember his candor.John spoke what he believed in plainwords with the expectation that peoplewould understand the good faith andgood will behind those words andrespond in kind. And because of hischaracter, they did."ALAN D. HORNSTEIN,ASSOCIATE DEAN, SCHOOL OF LAW15 JD MAGAZINE FALL 2001A native of Annapolis, Brumbaughearned a bachelor's degree in medieval his-tory from Swarthmore College in 1948 butturned to the law as a profession after dis-covering he would need to master a foreignlanguage to continue his studies. He earnedhis juris doctor in 1951 from Harvard LawSchool then clerked for four years in NewYork City before returning to Harvard as ateaching fellow for one year.Brumbaugh returned to his roots in1956 when he joined the faculty at theUniversity of Maryland. By 1963, he hadachieved the rank of professor and was wellon his way to earning a national reputationas a dedicated scholar and expert in crirni-nallaw. Upon his retirement in 1996, hewas named Wharton, Levin, Ehrmantraut,Klein & Nash Distinguished ServiceScholar Emeritus and Emeritus Professor ofLaw and continued to teach. Brumbaughauthored books, book reviews, articles andother published works ranging from a pro-posed criminal code for the state ofMaryland to a spoof on jurisdictional writ-ings and light verse. But he was always firsta teacher.It was his understated, often dry sense ofhumor that many colleagues rememberwith great fondness."I will remember his droll sense ofhumor at faculty lunches," Reynolds says.Garrett Power, a professor and colleague ofBrumbaugh's for 38 years, adds, "He was a"We will miss John's professionalism, hisintegrity and his humor. He was a won-derful colleague who would do anythingto help his fellow faculty members. Hehad enormous integrity, and you knew itwas out of principle."WILLIAM L. REYNOLDS Il, PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF LAWman of great wit and pleasant humor. Hecould satirize the law school with corny, yetvery gifted, verse."Formal but warm, Brumbaugh epito-mized a true gentleman in every sense ofthe word. Although well-known among hispeers for speaking his mind, Brumbaugh'sstyle, sincerity and love for the law schoolbrought few critics."John and I disagreed on just about"J ohn Brumbaugh made you reachhigher and do better. Everybody cameaway appreciating the fact that a profes-sor as good as he was cared aboutteaching as much as he did."FRANCIS B. BURCH JR. '74, CO-CHAIRMAN,PIPER MARBURY RUDNICK & WOLFEeverything as far as legal education, butbecause of the affection we had for eachother, our relationship never suffered,"Hornstein points out. "He was, for a lot ofyears, the face of the law school. It's hard tothink of the law school without him."Described as very giving and helpful toyounger faculty members, Brumbaughplayed an active role in integrating new fac-ulty into the life of the law school. He pro-moted the idea of classroom visits by moreexperienced professors who would offer tipsto newer faculty members."When I started on the faculty in 1984,he visited my class and gave me some veryhelpful hints," explains U.S. District JudgeAndre Davis '78, currently an adjunct pro-fessor. "He took pride in excellent work and"You never left John's classroomwithout learning something. He had anamazing breadth of knowledge and wasthe master of every subject he taught.Others may equal his talent, but no onewill replace him."THE HON. FREDERIC N. SMALKIN '71, U.S. DISTRICTCOURT; ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF LAWthat is a good attribute for a lawyer."In the classroom, Brumbaugh practicedand perfected the Socratic method of teach-ing. Although popular culture often por-trays an overbearing professor belittling aflustered student, Brumbaugh was nevermean-spirited. His method was designed toforce the student, under pressure, to thinkthrough the rules and principles throughwhich legal doctrine is derived."John never called on people unawares,"Davis says, laughing. "You always knewyour time was coming. You had no excusefor not being prepared."The Hon. Chief Judge Joseph F. MurphyJr. '69, of the Maryland Court of SpecialAppeals, recalls his first encounter withBrumbaugh in the fall of 1965, during anorientation for the incoming class."I remember his presentation was spell-binding, and I said to myself, 'Boy oh boy,this guy is really something," Murphy"He taught you in a way that made you feel a responsibility for the law.It was interesting and entertaining to take his courses, and you came outknowing there wasn't a right or wrong answer for anything. You can'tsay that about a lot of professors."THE HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN '67, REPRESENTATIVE, 3RD DISTRICTrelates. "He described the law as an interest-ing profession and discussed the importanceof hard work and preparation. It was inspir-ing and foreboding at the same time."As a student in the early '70s, Francis B.Burch Jr. '74, co-chairman of PiperMarbury Rudnick & Wolfe, experiencedtwo distinct sides to John Brumbaugh."One was the Kingsfield of theUniversity of Maryland School of Lawstanding before a large class. He was veryorganized, very demanding, but scrupulous-ly fair," Burch describes. "He was the classiclaw school professor pushing you to thinklike a lawyer and to think on your own."The second image comes from Burch'sexperience with Brumbaugh leading a smalljurisprudence seminar."He'd bring a tin of English cookies andwe'd sit and have tea and coffee during class,"Burch says. "He'd be in his suit and starchedshirt, and we all had long hair and jeans. Itwas quite a contrast." Although he was lessformal in the seminar setting, Brumbaughmaintained the same discipline as he did inhis larger classes."There was no fraternizing with him,"Burch notes. "The warmth came fromappreciating how he made you better. Hegave me a set of skills that is far morevaluable than what I paid for them."Last spring, Carole Martens '01, anassistant administrator for facilities atJohns Hopkins Hospital, signed up forBrumbaugh's trademarks class. After thefirst class meeting, Brumbaugh asked heropinion as to why so few people had signedup for the course."He was obviously concerned," Martenssays. "He thought it was because trade-marks was only a two-credit class and thatstudents preferred three-credit classes."Martens never gave the conversation anoth-er thought until the end of the semester"John Brumbaugh was our institutionalmemory. He was our Kingsfield, and hewas the foundation for our modernization."THE HON. ANDRE M. DAVIS '78, U.S. DISTRICT COURT,DISTRICT OF MARYLAND; ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, SCHOOLOF LAWwhen Brumbaugh announced with a widegrin that he'd worked all semester and thatstarting next year, the class would beoffered as a three-credit course."He talked excitedly about how hewould completely revamp the course,expand some areas, and improve on it. Hewas doing something he wanted to do andwas doing it well right up to the end,"Martens says. "He liked his students. Heliked teaching. He looked forward to class.That's a tribute to him and an inspirationto the rest of us."WWW.LAW.UMARYLAND.EDU 16

John M. Brumbaugh: A Celebration, A Tribute, A Farewell

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John M. Brumbaugh: A Celebration, A Tribute, A Farewell

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