Memorial for law professor James O'Fallon set for Aug. 4

A memorial gathering for emeritus law professor James O’Fallon will be held Friday, Aug. 4, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Giustina Ballroom in the Ford Alumni Center.

Friends, colleagues and members of the community are invited to attend. O’Fallon died July 11 at age 72.

He spent more than 30 years on the faculty of the School of Law. He came to the school in 1981, served as associate dean for several years and was the Frank Nash Professor of Law.

O’Fallon was considered a leading scholar of the Constitution, and his scholarly work included important articles on the defining Marbury v. Madison U.S. Supreme Court decision and the Missouri Controversy. He was well known for his work on the history of the Constitution, constitutional theory and legal philosophy.

He also spent 25 years as the university’s faculty athletics representative, serving on the NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions and on the Pac-12 Conference’s faculty athletics representatives council.

O’Fallon graduated from Kansas State University and earned his law degree from Stanford University in 1972. Prior to joining the faculty at the UO, he served as a law clerk with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and served on the law faculties at the University of Richmond and the University of Detroit. He also was a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at Harvard University.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen Thomas; and two sons, Dylan and Cheyney.