Jack McCrory Memorial

February 3, 2017

On January 17, 2017, our dear friend and colleague Professor John P. (Jack) McCrory passed away. Jack began his teaching career as a professor of law and founding director of the Dispute Resolution Project at Vermont Law School. He first taught for Straus as a visiting professor in 1988 and was here on a fairly regular basis during the summers teaching courses such as Alternative Dispute Resolution, Environmental and Public Policy Dispute Resolution, and Arbitration Practice. Jack joined the Straus Family as a full-time faculty member in 2001, and continued in this position for a decade.

In addition to his faculty positions at Vermont and Pepperdine, Jack was a visiting professor at Melbourne, Sydney, Wollongong, and Murdoch Universities in Australia; Rhodes University, South Africa; the University of Strathclyde, Scotland; and the University of Leicester, England. Professor McCrory served as: Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Association of American Law Schools (AALS); Chair of the AALS Labor Law Section; the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution (now the Association for Conflict Resolution) liaison to the ABA Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution (predecessor of the Section on Dispute Resolution); and Consultant to the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal in the development of a mediation program. In addition to teaching, he was a partner in the Melli, Smith, Shiels & McCrory law firm (Madison, Wisconsin); General Counsel of the Wisconsin Education Association Council; and an attorney with the

National Labor Relations Board.
Jack McCrory continues to inspire admiration and warm recollections by his colleagues…

Long-time Straus Institute teacher and trainer Nina Meierding:
“[Jack] was, without a doubt, my favorite professor when I went through the certificate program and I always loved to stop by the office to see him when he was at Pepperdine. He will be missed!”

Straus Academic Director Professor Tom Stipanowich:
“Jack was the model of a dedicated and strong teacher as well as a terrific colleague. When we first moved out to the area, Jack and Mitzi hosted me in their Santa Monica home until our campus residence was furnished and ready. I also got special pleasure from Jack’s wry sense of humor.”

Straus Director of Operations Shellee Warnes:

“I so enjoyed getting to know and work with Jack over the past 20 years. He cared so much about his students and was instrumental in mentoring many of them as they advanced their professional roles within the field. He will be dearly missed by not only those who worked with him at the Law School but also by the many, many students he inspired during his time here.”