Campbell, Rutheford B, Jr.

Frost, Christopher W.

Lawson, Robert G.

English

University of Kentucky

Kentucky Law JournalVolume 92 | Issue 3 Article 22004Tribute to Willburt D. HamRobert G. LawsonUniversity of KentuckyRutheford B. Campbell Jr.University of KentuckyChristopher W. FrostUniversity of KentuckyFollow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kljRight click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefitsyou.This Tribute is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kentucky Law Journalby an authorized editor of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu.Recommended CitationLawson, Robert G.; Campbell, Rutheford B. Jr.; and Frost, Christopher W. (2004) "Tribute to Willburt D. Ham," Kentucky LawJournal: Vol. 92 : Iss. 3 , Article 2.Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol92/iss3/2KENTUCKYLAW JOURNALVOLUME 92 2003-2004 NUMBER 3TRIBUTE TO WILLBURT D. HAMA Quarter Century,Not a Raised Voice*was a second-year law student, a transfer to the University ofKentucky from Tulane University, when I had my first encounterwith "Burt." Twenty-five years ago when I walked into Professor WillburtD. Ham's corporation class, I knew very little about him except that he hadlaw degrees from Illinois and Harvard. As a transfer student, I had noaccess to the information that always filters down from one generation oflaw students to another. And yet, on this first day, I could see that there wassomething special between this man and his students. The next year, as athird-year student, I enrolled in Professor Ham's course again, havingdivined the nature of that special relationship.Looking back, with the benefit of my own teaching experiences, I cansee that Burt Ham was extremely knowledgeable in his fields of study,knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish in each lecture, had thecapacity to organize his thoughts to a point of perfection, and was able tocapture and hold the attention of the students. But what I saw back" Editor's Note: The following is a tribute to Willburt D. Ham written byProfessor Robert Lawson upon Professor Ham's retirement in 1986. ProfessorLawson's tribute is reprinted verbatim; its words ring true today just as they didalmost twenty years ago.KENTUCKY LAW JOURNALthen--the basis of that something special-is far more revealing thananything one can find in performance evaluation forms, computer printouts,and standard deviations. It was really very simple at the core. Burt Hamtaught; students learned. He was not just a presider over a class. He was ateacher.11.Having later returned to the College of Law to join the faculty, I had achance to observe him from a different vantage point. After twenty yearsas a colleague I still marvel at his success in the classroom and would liketo patent the formula for his relationship with students. His students havea respect for him that is universal, an affection that is clearly extraordinary.I am still not sure that I understand the chemistry of this relationship, butI believe that I can describe some of the critical ingredients.Burt Ham has a genuine love for teaching that has survived the wearand tear of four decades in the classroom. Nearly every teacher experiencesclassroom fatigue at some time, but not Burt Ham. I doubt that he has everbeen less than perfectly prepared for an encounter with his students. Hethoroughly enjoys what he does and does it with an enthusiasm that has notwaned since he taught his first class in 1946. As a result, he creates anatmosphere in the classroom that ought to be emulated by every teacher.Nothing he says is perceived as trivial or irrelevant. Everything has alogical relationship and thus is understood and absorbed.Another characteristic I have seen in him has a similar effect. It is veryeasy for a professor, because of his own intellectual interest in the nebulaof the law, to neglect or obscure the certainty that exists in the legaluniverse. Among the ambiguity, controversy, and convolution that existsin the law, there is a massive set of rules that needs to be understood byaspiring lawyers. Professor Ham has been more sensitive to this need thanmost law teachers. He has succeeded in confronting the perplexity of thelaw in the classroom without creating the impression that perplexity is theessence of the law. Every day, as the students say, he teaches some law.And then, of course, in accounting for Burt Ham's success, you cometo the personal traits of the man himself. He is exactly what he seems tobe--warm, patient, considerate, concerned, dedicated. I have never knowna more even-tempered human being; in twenty-five years I have never heardhim raise his voice to a single person. He has taught over three thousandstudents at the University of Kentucky, and to this day I have never heardan unkind word about him from a single one. More than anything elseperhaps, it is Burt Ham the person that accounts for the great success ofBurt Ham the teacher.[VOL. 92TRIBUTE TO WILLBURT D. HAMm.It is easy to wish Burt Ham well in his retirement. He has enjoyed hisprofessional career, will continue to have a proper place in the life of theinstitution, and has the good health to enjoy a real change in routine. It isnot easy, however, for the college to experience this particular retirementwithout a special sense of loss, for Burt Ham is truly the last of a generationof teachers.The names of these true teachers are well known to several generationsof students. Some in the group I have known only by reputation-DeanAlvin Evans, Professor Frank Murray, Professor Pinky Roberts, and DeanElvis Stahr. Others I have known better, first as a student and later as acolleague-Dean W.L. Matthews, Professor Paul Oberst, Professor RoyMoreland, Professor James Richardson, Professor Richard Gilliam,Professor Fred Whiteside, and Professor Burt Ham. The group was small,distinguished, and highly dedicated. Its members shared an extraordinarysense of common purpose. Overshadowing individual ambition was ajointly held aspiration for an institution of special quality. These teacherssought excellence for the college of law and turned the pursuit of that goalinto a tradition that will persist long past the end of their era.One thing about the group stands out. They considered it an honor toshare their knowledge of the law with the young people who came toLexington from all over the state and country. To them, teaching was notjust an occupation; it was a calling. For many years, long after we becameclose friends, I could never bring myself to address Burt Ham as anythingother than "Professor Ham." Now, I can see the reason. As much as anyoneI have ever known, he deserves the title he holds. We may in our lightmoments think of him as Burt; but when it matters he will always beProfessor Willburt Ham.Robert G. Lawson**H e was always the teacher. Notwithstanding all his other accom-plishments--as a scholar, a writer, and a drafter of sensible andbalanced corporate and securities statutes and regulations-Burt Ham wasfirst and foremost a teacher."* Charles S. Cassis Professor of Law, University of Kentucky. B.S. 1960,Berea College; J.D. 1963, University of Kentucky.2003-2004]KENTUCKY LAW JOURNALIn my own case, I saw Burt as a teacher over a thirty-five year period.He was the first professor I had in my first class, my first day in law school.It was a contracts class at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday.I had come from a small liberal arts college that rightfully prided itselfin fine teaching, but in less than a week I knew that Professor Ham was asgood as any teacher I had ever had. I still think he was the best first yearlaw teacher I ever knew.I later encountered Burt Ham the teacher when I returned to the lawschool as a young professor. It was interesting, although humbling, to beBurt's teaching colleague. Until Burt and I squared off against each otherteaching competing sections of Business Associations, the rule was that astudent could freely select either teacher, when a large course, likeBusiness Associations, was dividend into two sections. The problem for theassociate dean was that, under the system of free student choice, I woulddraw 20 students, while Burt would get 130. So, the new rule: If onesection (Burt's) were oversubscribed, the associate dean would arbitrarilymove students into the undersubscribed section (mine). To me, thestruggling, insecure young professor, this was the worst possible outcome.My ego was bruised terribly by the fact that students didn't want to take mycourse; I had 50 disgruntled students who were trying desperately to finda way to get out of my class, and I had an additional fifty papers to gradeat the end of the term.So, Burt taught me humility-always a great lesson for a young (or old)professor. But he also showed me collegiality, grace, and the value ofmentoring. Burt always had time for me, when I was getting started, and hiswillingness to share his virtually boundless knowledge of corporate lawwas a great help to me. But if I'm honest, even that had a bit of a humbling-- perhaps even depressing--effect on me. I can remember on numerousoccasions leaving Burt's office after he had, with all that legendary Hampatience, spent an hour helping me understand some complicated, obscurepoint about corporate or securities law, thinking that if I live to be athousand, I never will know as much about corporate and securities as BurtHam.And then there is Burt the teacher after he "retired." Immediately, hewas snatched up as a visitor by other law schools. But, even though he wasin demand elsewhere, he continued to serve his law school as the greatteacher he was. Nearly every other year after he first retired, Burt put asideother plans in order to be an adjunct professor, mostly of his belovedBusiness Associations course.To the end of his life, Burt came to the law school, usually late in theafternoon. He always wanted to talk about the law. He wanted to know if[VOL. 92TRIBUTE TO WILLBURT D. HAMthe courts had made any changes in Rule 1Ob-5, whether the legislature hadamended our corporate statues, and how many people I was attracting in thecorporate finance course.His family told me a wonderful story about his habits when he was athome, grading the mountain of examinations that a professor as popular aBurt faces at the end of every semester. During those many long, laborioushours of grading, Burt imposed a strict household rule on Rosamund andthe boys that he was not to be disturbed. There was an exception to Burt'sdo-not-disturb rule, but only in the case of a matter of the utmost impor-tance. In these exceptional cases, however, the family member needing Burtwas to communicate with him only by a note.I had to laugh when I heard this story. It was so "Burt." He establisheda rule that ensured order and maximum concentration on the very importantjob at hand, but at the same time he established a process for orderlyflexibility, if the situation required.One thinks back over the last half of the twentieth century to the greatnames of our law school-Matthews, Oberst, and Whiteside are examples.Ham is a name that always is included in the list of greats. Personally, noone had a greater influence on me.Burt Ham was the complete package as a professor, but he will alwaysbe remembered most as the great teacher.Rutheford B Campbell, Jr.***t is customary for the graduates to select a professor to address thegraduating class, to bid farewell, and to send the graduates off witha few last words of advice. For the class of 1986, the decision was an easyone. By acclamation, we chose Professor Burt Ham to be our graduationspeaker.Professor Ham's participation in our graduation made the eventparticularly memorable because the year of our graduation was also theyear of his retirement. The importance of the moment was not lost on us.The honors he received at the close of one chapter of his truly distinguishedcareer juxtaposed against the hope we felt at the beginning of our careerslent special meaning to our celebration.As a student, I remember Professor Ham as embodying the very besttraits of a teacher and a lawyer. His warm and pleasant personality taught... Law Alumni Professor of Law, University of Kentucky. B.A. 1966, CentreCollege; J.D. 1969, University of Kentucky; L.L.M. 1971, Harvard University.2003-2004]KENTUCKY LAW JOURNALus the importance of civility in a professional life. His meticulouspreparation and presentation of our classes made clear to us the require-ment of organization and clarity in a professional life. His impeccable dressand courtly manner modeled for us the value of an well-ordered life.For generations students often referred to Professor Ham outside ofclass as "Uncle Burt." As is true of some nicknames, ours reflected a greataffection for its subject. We really did view Professor Ham as an uncle--arole model who exerted his influence over us, not through the discipline ofour parents, not through the shared experience of those close in age, butthrough the respect that demands that one never disappoint.It was sometimes said that students could never get a wrong answer inhis class. He would always find a way to find some kernel of wisdom in themost thoughtless answers. But even though Professor Ham took care neverto embarrass an unprepared or errant student, we always strived to find away to satisfy him.After my return to the college of law, I always looked forward to hislate afternoon visits. Whenever he was in town, he would come to schoolto look through his mail and read advance sheets, journal articles, andtreatises. Though retired, he maintained his professional skill and interestin corporation and contract law. Always dressed for work, I never saw himwithout a tie and jacket.During those visits, I learned about Burt Ham the man. We talked aboutfamily (he was blessed with a loving family and always inquired aboutmine), UK athletics (he was a great fan), politics (I was never sure whetherhe was a Republican or Democrat), and civic life (he was a loyal Rotarianwith a record of perfect attendance at club meetings). Inevitably, however,our talks would turn to the college of law. He was always interested incurrent events at the school, our plans for the future, and particularly thestudents. For Burt Ham, the students were always the focus. That is why inthe seventeen years following his retirement Professor Ham could alwaysbe counted on to come to graduation. He may not have personally knownthe graduates, but it was important for him to share in their celebration.This year's graduation ceremony will seem a little emptier withoutBurt. But, like all great teachers, his influence will continue. He was a kindman, a careful and meticulous lawyer, a loving husband and father. For us,however, Burt Ham was our teacher and we are better for it.Christopher W Frost****Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of Kentucky, Frost BrownTodd Professor of Law. B.B.A. 1983, J.D. 1986, University of Kentucky.[VOL. 92

Tribute to Willburt D. Ham

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1407&amp;context=klj

Tribute to Willburt D. Ham

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Kentucky