Indiana Law Review


Thomas B. Allington

Norman Lefstein*

Chancellor Emeritus Jerry Bepko has written a marvelous tribute to Professor
Allington, capturing Tom' s numerous and varied talents that have made him one
of the Law School's exceptional faculty members for more than three decades.
Jerry Bepko' s friendship with Tom dates back to 1972; whereas, I became
acquainted with him when I came to the Indiana University School of
Law—Indianapolis as its dean in 1988.

Shortly after my arrival, I needed to recruit a new Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs, which is the second most important administrative position in

the Law School and probably the most difficult because it requires constant
faculty interaction dealing with course assignments and scheduling. To determine
which of my new colleagues would be acceptable to the faculty as dean for
academic affairs, I decided to meet with every faculty member individually.
These meetings made my decision easy because I learned that the entire faculty
had the highest respect for Tom. Not only were there no faculty members
opposed to Tom's appointment, but all enthusiastically endorsed Tom for the
position.

From 1990 to 1997, Tom served as the Law School's Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs and repeatedly demonstrated the reasons why he was the
faculty's choice. Tom dealt with his colleagues in excellent fashion, successfully
negotiating countless teaching arrangements with faculty and adjunct instructors,

as well as contributing important ideas leading to curricular improvements and

progress in a host of other law school areas. Moreover, upon working with Tom,
I learned immediately that he could always be counted on for wise, soft-spoken,

and dispassionate counsel. In short order, he became my most trusted confidant
respecting all matters related to law school administration.

Soon after Tom stepped down from his position as Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs, I decided that there was another very important role in which

Tom could contribute to the Law School's progress. To be a first-rate law school,
we needed a person to spearhead our progress in technology, overseeing the
development of the School's website, equipment purchases, and computer

services for students, among many others. While it was clear to me that Tom
would be the best person for the job because his knowledge and expertise in all

matters related to technology were outstanding, I was unsure whether he would

be willing to return so soon to law school administration. Fortunately, in 1999

he accepted my offer to become the Law School's first Associate Dean for
Technology, and he continued to serve in that capacity until his retirement.

The Law School's new home—Lawrence W. Inlow Hall—is one of the most
technologically advanced law schools in the country. This is due in no small

measure to Tom's thoughtful contributions throughout the design and planning
of our new facility. Tom served as a member of the Law School's Building

* Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, Indiana University School of Law—Indianapolis.
LL.B., 1961, University of Illinois College of Law; LL.M., 1964, Georgetown University Law
Center.



8 INDIANA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 41:7

Committee and worked closely with the School's architects in the design of all

of Inlow Hall's technological wonders.

Tom continuously displayed generous spirit and commitment to the Law
School; even after his retirement as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Tom
served on several occasions as chair of the Law School's Promotions and Tenure
Committee. The effective chairmanship of this committee is vital to the operation
of the Law School, but it is also a thankless, time-consuming job requiring
considerable skill and patience. Because Tom possesses these attributes in
abundance, he performed the job very effectively and once again earned the

admiration of his faculty colleagues.

To be truly successful, all institutions require dedicated and talented persons
like Tom Allington. The Indiana University School of Law—Indianapolis has
been fortunate to have had Tom's services for many, many years. He will be
missed and by no means easily replaced, but Tom Allington can bask in the
knowledge of having served his Law School and Indiana University with great
distinction.