Jesuit, Catholic tradition of making
quality law education open to bright
and hardworking students regardless of
their background or socioeconomic status.
That accessibility is especially critical
now that average tuition debt has
ballooned due to the rising costs of
providing higher education.
“When I graduated 30 years ago, I had
$20,000 in tuition debt. Today, students
often have $100,000 or $150,000,” Hartman
says. “Now more than ever, it’s important to
give back for others, just as the alums who
came before us gave for us.”
Adds Rafter, “Coming out of seven
years of school loaded with debt constricts
new graduates’ initial employment choices.
They may want to serve in government or
public interest law, and the value of those
experiences is immeasurable. But today,
if you’re lucky enough to have a choice
of employment, it’s driven by how much
you need to pay back in student loans.”
Scholarships ensure talented, service-
oriented students can make career choices
on a basis other than salary, Rafter says.
Michael identifies several honors as
among his proudest: receiving the Catholic
Lawyer of the Year award from the Catholic
Lawyers Guild of Chicago, being elected to
the American Law Institute, and receiving
the St. Thomas More Award for outstanding
service to Loyola’s School of Law.
The RAM’s favorite non-academic
professional experiences include arguing
cases in the United States Supreme
Court and 30 cases in the Illinois Supreme
Court during his tenure in the Illinois
attorney general’s office, as well as clerking
for former Illinois Supreme Court Justice
Daniel Ward.
Because the cost of tuition has made
a law education relatively more expensive
than when he attended Loyola, Michael
says he’s honored to have a scholarship
named for him.
“In my day, tuition wasn’t much,
but there also weren’t many scholarships,
as we have now,” he says. “I’m glad that
people think I made a contribution to the
school over the years, and pleased that
this scholarship will give students the
opportunity to attend law school when
they might not have been able to. Some
may make great contributions to the state
of justice in Illinois and the country.”
■
GIFTS
››
TO MA K E A CON T R I BU T I ON TO T H E
R I CHARD A . MI CHAE L SCHOLARSH I P FUND,
CON TAC T T H E A LUMN I OF F I C E AT 312.915.7366.
This spring, he celebrates his
80th birthday and nearly 50 years
of teaching at the School of Law.
To mark these milestones, and as
part of the University-wide
Access
to Excellence: The Campaign for
Scholarships,
law alumni and friends
are joining to create a new endowed
scholarship in the RAM’s honor.
Contributions of $500 or more to the
Richard A. Michael Scholarship Fund
will be matched by Loyola President
and CEO Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
“Dick is an institution here at
the School of Law, educating literally
thousands of our graduates,” says
Dean David Yellen. “We thought the
scholarship would be a great tribute
to him and provide just the kind
of assistance to students for which
he’s renowned. Everybody knows
he has kind of a tough exterior,
but underneath the surface is an
extremely caring teacher.”
The initial impetus for the
scholarship came from three-time
Loyola grad and University trustee
Jack Hartman (BBA ’80, MBA ’82, JD
’85), who says he wanted to honor a
teacher who changed his own life.
“Professor Michael was a
transformative teacher for me,”
says Hartman. “He made me want
to prepare for and be at my best in
class—I studied twice as hard for him
as for anyone else. The debate he
encouraged, both in the classroom
and at after-hour gatherings at
Flapjaws across the street, was open,
lively, and challenging.”
With Hartman’s enthusiastic
leadership, many alums are happily
coming aboard to help establish the
scholarship. Tom Rafter (JD ’71) says
his participation is a way to shine the
light on a man who impressed him
both professionally and personally.
“With the passage of time,
students tend to better appreciate
what really good teachers did
for them…but those teachers don’t
always find that out,” Rafter says. “I
wasn’t the most able student the RAM
ever had, but I want him to know how
much ordinary students benefited
from his teaching, too. He has a very,
very perceptive mind, is always in
total command of his material, and
knows how to organize his thoughts
and use the Socratic method to
clearly communicate the essence
of the matter.
“He’s beloved for all those
reasons, but also for being a good
person who truly cares about other
people. Even his cutting jokes are
never malicious.”
As with other School of Law
scholarships, the Richard A. Michael
Scholarship Fund fulfills Loyola’s
Encyclopedic in his knowledge, rigorous in his expectations, wicked in his wit, and unstinting in his encouragement,
Professor Richard A. Michael—known to generations as “the RAM”—is
a complete original and a Loyola law legend.
New endowed scholarship to honor a
cornerstone of the Loyola law faculty
Ruminations on the RAM
“Over the years Dick Michael has taught and mentored thousands of students. What typified his dedication for me
was his reaction to students who did not do well in his Civil Procedure class; he would call them to his office, and
volunteer to work closely with them the next semester to ensure they would be successful. Without any fanfare or
public recognition, he did this for most of his teaching career. Dick is truly a beloved and highly respected teacher,
mentor, and colleague.”
—DEAN EMERITA NINA APPEL
“It is difficult to imagine Loyola’s law school without Professor Richard A. Michael. His lectures in Civil Procedure
were clear and interesting. His attention to detail and his command of the law were legendary. In addition, he had
a wonderful sense of humor. Today, attorneys at my firm cite his book,
Civil Procedure Before Trial,
in arguments and
briefs. I owe Professor Michael a great deal, and I’m happy to assist in endowing a scholarship in his name.”
—KEVIN J. CONWAY (JD ’76)
“When I go out on interviews with Loyola law graduates, they all ask, ‘Oh, did you have the RAM for Civ Pro? Doesn’t
he scare you? But you learn so much from him!’ It’s such a connection with other Loyola alums. The contributions he’s
made to the Illinois legal community, and the respect he commands, are amazing.”
—ALAN VELASCO (JD ’13), 2012-13 SBA PRESIDENT
“I once made a quip in the RAM’s class. He turned, glared at me, and said, ‘I tell the jokes in here.’ Even with the jokes,
he imparts the idea that this is serious business and that within a few years, you’re going to call the shots on people’s
lives and property. He also emphasizes the language lawyers use—not just thinking like a lawyer, but talking like one.
I went into criminal law, nothing to do with civil procedure, and yet I learned the most from him that first year about
how to conduct myself in criminal court.”
—FRANCIS WOLFE (JD ’98)
“It’s very humbling to be around someone as smart as the RAM. In 2001, after having practiced criminal law, I had
one of my first civil cases. It was a specific, archaic issue of civil procedure, and I was stumped. I called the RAM and
asked if I could stop by to pick his brain. When I gave him the fact pattern, he literally reached up, grabbed the book,
thumbed through it, and set it in front of me, saying, ‘There’s your answer.’”
—JAY ROCK (JD ’96)
“If you only took one class and dropped out, you’d want it to be the RAM’s Civil Procedure course; it taught you
to think like a lawyer. I didn’t fully appreciate what a spectacular teacher he was until I was studying for the final.
Reviewing my notes, everything we’d studied suddenly came together clearly and I realized, ‘Wow, I really understand
this.’ I got an A on the test, which stunned him, since I was the one he picked on in our class!”
—JOHN CULLERTON (JD ’74)
“Only a handful of great people have left as lasting a mark on this place as the RAM. Everyone has a great RAM story.
They are all true, but we will probably never hear some of the best: stories about the quiet support and inspiration
he has provided to his students. We will probably never know about all the times he went out of his way to meet
with those who were discouraged and down; how he offered his good counsel and changed a student’s life. I know
some of these folks, and I also know there are many, many others who would not be lawyers today without his
encouragement. Among the many reasons to thank the RAM, let’s not forget his quiet contributions.”
—JAMES FAUGHT (JD ’76), ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ADMINISTRATION
SPRING 2013
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LOYOLA LAW
