Don LeDuc, former President and Dean of Thomas M. Cooley Law School, died on May 24 at the age of 83 from pancreatic cancer.
LeDuc grew up in Lapeer, the oldest child of Paul “Gus” LeDuc and Laura (Maxson) LeDuc.
After earning his B.A. in History from Kalamazoo in 1964, he graduated cum laude from Wayne State University Law School in 1967.
He served as a Special Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, working in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, then in the Executive Office of Governor William G. Milliken as the Law Studies Coordinator for the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. He became administrator for the Office of Criminal Justice Programs for the Michigan Department of Management and Budget in 1970.
In 1975, he joined the faculty of the new Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where he taught torts and administrative law and served two stints as its Dean (1982-1987, 1996-2018). He became Cooley’s second President in 2002, while continuing as Dean. He held both jobs until his retirement in 2018.
Convincing the American Bar Association to permit weekend law degree programs, thereby increasing access to legal education, was perhaps his proudest achievement.
LeDuc authored the treatise, Michigan Administrative Law, in 1993, updating it annually. His most recent work marries his love for the U.S. Constitution and U.S. history – in Restructured Constitution of the United States of America, he rethinks the structure of the Constitution based on writings of John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison in the Federalist Papers.
His proposed new structure seeks to increase clarity in Constitutional interpretation, particularly in regard to powers delegated by the Federal government to the States.
LeDuc worked on the Michigan Corrections Commission from 1977 to 1984 and met his wife, Susan Coley, who worked for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
In 2001, LeDuc promoted the founding of the Cooley Innocence Project. Since its inception, the Innocence Project has screened over 6,000 cases and is responsible for the exoneration of nine individuals.
Throughout nearly 60 years in the Lansing area, LeDuc served on the boards of directors for the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP, Inc.), CATCH – Sparky Anderson’s Charity for Children, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the Capital Area United Way, the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, Cooley Clinic, Inc., and Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic. Don and his wife were also longtime patrons of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and the Wharton Center.
LeDuc is survived by his wife, Susan Coley; daughter, Laura LeDuc; son, Alex LeDuc (Caroline Dorsen); grandchildren, Claudia LeDuc, Mateo LeDuc, Conrad Moyer, and Rolla Olin Moyer; sister, Sara Wolf; brothers, Dan LeDuc, Kevin LeDuc (Mary Louise Schneider), and Reed LeDuc (Doreen LeDuc); mother-in-law, Jan Coley; brothers- and sisters-in-law, Michael Coley & Terri Petrucci Coley and Sarah Coley Hilburn & Rob Hilburn; nieces and nephews, Caity Luter Davis, Carly Wolf McLaughlin, Wayne LeDuc, Marc LeDuc, Katie Galang, Mikala Coley, Nicola Coley, Grant Hilburn, and Genevieve Hilburn; nine grand nieces and nephews; his “K” family: Carl & Karen Bekofske, Gordon & Gail Rodwan, Frances Hackney, Michael & Betty Moore, Jim Harkema; and former wife, Susan LeDuc.
LeDuc did not wish to have a funeral or memorial service, opting for his family to host a party to celebrate his life at a future date.
He chose two charities for memorial donations: Stoneleigh Residence & Hospice of Lansing; and Lansing Symphony Orchestra.
LeDuc grew up in Lapeer, the oldest child of Paul “Gus” LeDuc and Laura (Maxson) LeDuc.
After earning his B.A. in History from Kalamazoo in 1964, he graduated cum laude from Wayne State University Law School in 1967.
He served as a Special Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, working in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, then in the Executive Office of Governor William G. Milliken as the Law Studies Coordinator for the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. He became administrator for the Office of Criminal Justice Programs for the Michigan Department of Management and Budget in 1970.
In 1975, he joined the faculty of the new Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where he taught torts and administrative law and served two stints as its Dean (1982-1987, 1996-2018). He became Cooley’s second President in 2002, while continuing as Dean. He held both jobs until his retirement in 2018.
Convincing the American Bar Association to permit weekend law degree programs, thereby increasing access to legal education, was perhaps his proudest achievement.
LeDuc authored the treatise, Michigan Administrative Law, in 1993, updating it annually. His most recent work marries his love for the U.S. Constitution and U.S. history – in Restructured Constitution of the United States of America, he rethinks the structure of the Constitution based on writings of John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison in the Federalist Papers.
His proposed new structure seeks to increase clarity in Constitutional interpretation, particularly in regard to powers delegated by the Federal government to the States.
LeDuc worked on the Michigan Corrections Commission from 1977 to 1984 and met his wife, Susan Coley, who worked for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
In 2001, LeDuc promoted the founding of the Cooley Innocence Project. Since its inception, the Innocence Project has screened over 6,000 cases and is responsible for the exoneration of nine individuals.
Throughout nearly 60 years in the Lansing area, LeDuc served on the boards of directors for the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP, Inc.), CATCH – Sparky Anderson’s Charity for Children, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the Capital Area United Way, the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, Cooley Clinic, Inc., and Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic. Don and his wife were also longtime patrons of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and the Wharton Center.
LeDuc is survived by his wife, Susan Coley; daughter, Laura LeDuc; son, Alex LeDuc (Caroline Dorsen); grandchildren, Claudia LeDuc, Mateo LeDuc, Conrad Moyer, and Rolla Olin Moyer; sister, Sara Wolf; brothers, Dan LeDuc, Kevin LeDuc (Mary Louise Schneider), and Reed LeDuc (Doreen LeDuc); mother-in-law, Jan Coley; brothers- and sisters-in-law, Michael Coley & Terri Petrucci Coley and Sarah Coley Hilburn & Rob Hilburn; nieces and nephews, Caity Luter Davis, Carly Wolf McLaughlin, Wayne LeDuc, Marc LeDuc, Katie Galang, Mikala Coley, Nicola Coley, Grant Hilburn, and Genevieve Hilburn; nine grand nieces and nephews; his “K” family: Carl & Karen Bekofske, Gordon & Gail Rodwan, Frances Hackney, Michael & Betty Moore, Jim Harkema; and former wife, Susan LeDuc.
LeDuc did not wish to have a funeral or memorial service, opting for his family to host a party to celebrate his life at a future date.
He chose two charities for memorial donations: Stoneleigh Residence & Hospice of Lansing; and Lansing Symphony Orchestra.
