Bruce McLean '71
Robert Bruce McLean, one of the Law School’s strongest supporters and most accomplished alumni, passed away peacefully on May 9 in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 77.
McLean had never set foot in Indiana prior to enrolling in the Maurer School of Law, but the three years he spent in Bloomington proved formative for both him and his alma mater.
After graduating in 1971, McLean joined the National Labor Relations Board. During his law school enrollment he took three labor law classes from—and later served as a student assistant to—Prof. Jack Getman. McLean’s performance as a student and assistant made it easy for Getman to recommend him to a friend at the NLRB. In the span of two years McLean argued 15 cases before the Court of Appeals, one of which was against a small Dallas firm, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
So impressed was the Akin Gump team that they invited the young McLean to join their firm in 1973. From there McLean developed a sterling reputation as one of the country’s premier specialists in commercial and energy-related cases. For more than four decades he litigated complex business cases for clients around the globe, and shepherded the rise of Akin Gump into an international legal powerhouse.
“No one, including me, foresaw the height of Bruce’s success,” said classmate and close friend Neil Irwin ’71. “We had some bright people in our class—a few that did quite well in Big Law—but no one reached the level or reputation that Bruce did. He was unquestionably the most successful lawyer from the Law School’s Class of 1971. With all of that success, no matter his position—to me—he was always the same Bruce I’d met in 1968.”
Through it all McLean remained a steadfast supporter of the Law School. He joined its Board of Visitors advisory committee in 1989, working with a number of deans on strategic initiatives and ways to improve the school’s success.
He was inducted into the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2003, the highest honor the Law School can bestow upon an alumnus. McLean returned to Bloomington often, for board meetings or to teach and inspire future attorneys.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than meeting with students and helping them chart their future,” he said in 2011. “If I can give back to just one student a small portion of what I got from the law school experience, then my efforts will have been worth it.”
The Law School will greatly miss Bruce McLean.
Robert H. McKinney '52
The Maurer School of Law is mourning the passing of its graduate Robert H. McKinney, a visionary attorney, businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist, who died September 29 at his home in Michigan. He was 98.
McKinney was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving on destroyers in the Pacific Theater for three years near the end of World War II. He also had a temporary appointment to Gen. MacArthur’s staff before returning to law school.
And once he graduated, McKinney became one of the most successful—and beloved—attorneys in Indianapolis. McKinney joined forces with Lew Bose and William Evans in 1963 to create one of the Midwest’s premier law firms in Bose, McKinney, and Evans.
That was just the beginning of what would become an extraordinary career of both public and private service, and a life dedicated to the belief that giving back to his community wasn’t just a nice thing to do—it was the right thing to do.
That included indelible contributions not only to his alma mater, but to the Indiana University Indianapolis law school where he began his legal education. McKinney enrolled at the IU School of Law in Indianapolis after his World War II duties, but was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. McKinney then transferred to IU’s law school in Bloomington, where he graduated in 1952.
He remained actively involved with both law schools—and the university—for more than 70 years. In 2011 the IU School of Law in Indianapolis was renamed in his honor.
The Maurer School of Law inducted McKinney into its Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 1999, the same year he endowed the Robert H. McKinney Professorship in Bloomington. Professor Dan Conkle held the chair for years, and recalled fondly his interactions with McKinney.
“Bob was a highly accomplished individual and a generous benefactor, but he also was a true gentleman,” Conkle said. “He reached out to me shortly after I took on the position that he endowed, expressing genuine interest in me and in my scholarship. I shared my scholarly work with him, and he not only read it but also offered his comments. Bob was a remarkable man. It was privilege to know him and, through my professorship, to have my name associated with his.”
Virtually unparalleled is his support of Indiana University, McKinney served on its Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1998, including one year as its president. IU recognized him with its Presidents Circle Laurel Pin in 2014, its Partners in Philanthropy Herman B Wells Visionary Award in 2017, and a Bicentennial Medal in 2019. McKinney was awarded an honorary doctorate from IU in 2018 to go along with previous honorary doctorates from Marian and Butler universities.
“Indiana has lost a true giant of the legal profession,” said Maurer School of Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “Bob McKinney has been an inspiration and friend to us all over the years, and his legacy in Indiana and beyond will live on in our faculty and students for decades to come.”
McKinney’s legacy extends far beyond the legal profession. President Jimmy Carter—a classmate of McKinney’s at the Naval Academy—appointed him chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. McKinney led the deregulation of the thrift industry in the 1970s, positioning it for growth and stability.
Valena Beety, who now serves as the Robert H. McKinney Professor of Law, said that though she never had the opportunity to meet him, McKinney was an inspiration.
“I am thankful to Mr. McKinney for his significant support of higher education in Indiana, both through his incredibly generous contributions to Maurer and McKinney, and his support for Indiana University,” she said.
Barton "Bart" Kaufman '65
Barton Lowell Kaufman passed away on December 3, at his home in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 83.
Kaufman, a native of Shelbyville, Indiana, was a two-time All-Big Ten selection as a baseball player for the Hoosiers. In 1961, he was the conference's second-leading hitter. He earned his bachelor's degree from the IU School of Business in 1962 and his juris doctorate from the Law School in 1965.
In 2003 Kaufman endowed a faculty chair in tax law at the Law School. His generous benefaction was named in honor of former professor William W. Oliver, who taught at the Law School from 1954 to 1991.
A longtime supporter of baseball, Kaufman provided a major gift to the university for the construction of a new baseball stadium. In February of 2012, IU's athletic department announced the stadium would be named in his honor. Since 2013, the Indiana baseball team has played all of its home games at Bart Kaufman Field, one of the nation's premier college baseball stadiums.
Longtime chairman and CEO of Kaufman Financial Corporation, Kaufman was active in countless philanthropies, including the Indiana University Foundation and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. At Indiana University, he raised funds for the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center, the Bess Meshulam Simon Music Library and Recital Center, Simon Hall and the Bren Simon Cancer Center.
