Robert M. O'Neil

Robert M. O'Neil
Born Robert Marchant O'Neil
(1934-10-16)October 16, 1934
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died September 30, 2018(2018-09-30) (aged 83)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality American
Alma mater Harvard University
Occupation Educator
Known for President of the University of Virginia
Term 1985–1990
Predecessor Frank Hereford
Successor John T. Casteen III

Robert Marchant O'Neil (October 16, 1934 – September 30, 2018)[1][2] was an American jurist who was a specialist in constitutional law and a former president of the University of Virginia who created the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression. He was the director of this center, taking this position in 1990 after retiring from serving as the president of the University of Virginia.[3] He was associated with the Law School of the University, where he taught courses in the First Amendment and the Arts, Speech and Press, Church and State, and Free Speech in Cyberspace.[4]

Life

O'Neil[5] was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 16, 1934.[1]

He was married to Karen Elson, an English teacher and director of college counseling at St. Anne's-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Virginia.[4]

O'Neil attended Harvard University for his undergraduate degrees. In 1956, he earned his baccalaureate degree;[6] in 1957, he earned his masters degree (MA); and earned a Bachelor in Law degree (LLB) in 1961.[1] O’Neil also holds honorary degrees from Beloit College[4] and Indiana University (LLD, 1987).[5]

Teaching career

Before his career as teacher and scholar, O'Neil served as a clerk for Justice William J. Brennan of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1962-1963 term. In 1963, he joined the law faculty of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.[1] While at the law school, he served as chair of the Academic Senate Committee on Academic Freedom.[4]

From 1963 to 1967, he taught at Berkeley and then went to work as a law professor at SUNY/Buffalo, where he also was executive assistant to president Martin Myerson. After SUNY he returned to Berkeley.[1] Over the course of his career, he also was a member of the law faculty of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Indiana University at Bloomington, and the University of Wisconsin Law School.[4] While teaching, O'Neil was known for his defense of affirmative action and his study of the First Amendment promises.[7]

Administrative career

O'Neil had several charges at different universities. In 1972, he started his administrative career by taking the position of vice president and provost for academic affairs of the University of Cincinnati. The following year he became executive vice president of academic affairs.[1][5] In 1975 he became vice president for the Bloomington campus of Indiana University.[5] In 1980 he took his position as the president of the University of Wisconsin system.[8] Subsequently, he became president of the University of Virginia. His remained involved in other associations. An example is his participation as general counsel of the Committee of the American Association of University Professors. He held this position for two years in the early 1970s and another two years in the early 1990s. He became president of this committee in 1999.[4]

For almost two decades he was a trustee for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the Educational Testing Service and the Johnson Foundation.[4] He held the chairmanship of several organizations, including the National Association of State Universities, Land-Grant Colleges, and the boards of directors of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. He was an executive member of the Association of American Universities and WVPT Public Television, the American Bar Association’s Human Rights Journal and the National Advisory Board of the American Civil Liberties Union.[4]

O'Neil was the director of the Ford Foundation's Difficult Dialogues Initiative. He also participated on the Board of Consulting Editors of Trusteeship, journal of the Association of Governing Boards, journal of the Association of Governing Boards.[4]

Publications

O’Neil has written numerous articles for law reviews and other journals and is the author of several books, including:

  • The Rights of Public Employees (2nd ed.). Southern Illinois University Press. 1993. ISBN 0-8093-1927-6.
  • Classrooms in the Crossfire. Indiana University Press. 1981. ISBN 0-253-17933-5. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  • Free Speech in the College Community. Indiana University Press. 1997. ISBN 0-253-33267-2.
  • The First Amendment and Civil Liability. Indiana University Press. 2001. ISBN 0-253-34033-0.
  • Academic Freedom in the Wired World. Harvard University Press. 2007. ISBN 0-674-02660-8.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Presidents of the University of Wisconsin System". Archived from the original on 2010-11-26. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  2. ↑ Newman, Caroline (2018-10-02). "University Community Remembers UVA's Sixth President Robert M. O'Neil". UVA Today. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  3. ↑ "Lilly, Merrill, O'Neil Retire". University of Virginia Law School. UVA Lawyer. Fall 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Director". The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Indiana University Honorary Degree recipient Robert Marchant O'Neil". Archived from the original on 2013-09-06.
  6. ↑ "An Explanation of degree abbreviations". Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  7. ↑ "A tribute to Robert M. O'Neil". 93: 841–51. JSTOR 25050368.
  8. ↑ Langer, Emily (October 3, 2018). "Robert O'Neil, former U-Va. president and scholar of First Amendment, dies at 83". Houston Chronicle. Washington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  • Bio, University of Virginia Law School
  • Bio, University of Virginia Law School Library
  • Bio, University of Virginia presidents
  • Appearances on C-Span.org
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