Law School Professor Celebrates Golden Anniversary

Carlisle, PA (September 7, 2006) – While Friday, September 1 appeared to be like any other work day for most employees at Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law, it was a very special one for Professor Louis Del Duca – one that marked the 50th anniversary of his distinguished teaching career at The Dickinson School of Law.

During his tenure at the law school, Del Duca has assumed many roles including mentor, counselor, advisor and friend to faculty, staff and students. Additionally, he has been known as a pioneer in the legal world, expanding international educational opportunities in the American legal system. He regularly coordinates or participates in collaborative events and symposia with renowned legal and international experts from across the globe.

In the late 1960s, when many educational institutions began introducing more international components into their curriculum, the dean of the law school at the time called upon Del Duca to lead the way for The Dickinson School of Law. Del Duca willingly accepted the challenge and, in 1968, established the LL.M. program for training foreign lawyers.

Not only has Del Duca enhanced the law school’s curriculum through the creation and coordination of the LL.M. program, he also founded and manages Penn State Dickinson’s summer programs in Europe. In 1980, he established the law school’s Florence Summer Abroad program with the University of Florence, Italy, and in the mid-1980s, he set up the Capitals of Europe program. For more than twenty years, Del Duca has been directing these summer programs with a true “insider’s touch” and provides students with a unique experience through his wealth of international comparative law expertise and an extensive network of distinguished overseas colleagues and friends.

“Professor Del Duca has contributed enormously over the years to the outstanding reputation our law school enjoys among foreign and international scholars and officials, and he is singularly responsible for the superior LL.M. and summer programs for which our law school in known worldwide,” remarked law school dean, Phil McConnaughay.

Del Duca is a member of the American Law Institute and the U.S. Secretary of State’s Committee on International Trade Law. He has served as president of the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law and has been The United States’ collaborator to the Rome International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT). In 2000, Professor Del Duca was honored with the W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award for his leadership in international education at Penn State.