Rutgers-Camden Mourns Loss

The campus sadly observes the deaths of two faculty members, Prof. M. Donald Kepner and Dr. Robert Bailey.

A professor emeritus at the School of Law, Prof. Kepner led the Camden law school as associate dean from 1953 until the school achieved independence from its Newark counterpart in 1967. "Dean Kepner steadfastly built the Camden law school into an institution that could achieve independence," says Prof. Rayman Solomon, dean of the Rutgers University School of Law at Camden. "Under his stewardship, the Rutgers-Camden law school began the hiring that enabled it to become one of the national centers for legal scholarship that it is today. "As a teacher, he was most rigorous in class, but countless graduates tell me that when they first went to court they had no fear in facing a judge because their experiences with Dean Kepner prepared them well."

Prof. Kepner joined the Rutgers-Camden faculty in 1949 and retired in 1986, when the law school established the M. Donald Kepner Prize in Federal Jurisdiction in Law student award in his honor. He was 85.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 10, at the United Methodist Church of Haddonfield, 29 Warwick Road. Memorial donations may be made to the M. Donald Kepner Prize, c/o Scott Schaffer, School of Law, Rutgers University, 217 North Fifth Street, Camden, NJ, 08102.

A recognized specialist in urban policy and public finance, Dr. Bailey's recent scholarship also focused national attention on the growing significance of gay and lesbian issues in urban politics. Dr. Bailey joined the Rutgers-Camden faculty in 1994 and was promoted to associate professor in 1997. He authored three books, including "Gay Politics/Urban Politics" (Columbia University Press, 1999), and co-founded the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Caucus for political science.

Prior to his arrival at Rutgers-Camden, Dr. Bailey held several policy positions in New York City, including assistant to the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs and analyst for the Financial Control Board. He continued to serve as a consultant for numerous national and global initiatives, ranging from New York City mayoral candidates to United Nations work in Pakistan. "Bob was an excellent teacher, a fine scholar, and a sincerely engaged colleague," says Dr. James Dunn, chair of the Rutgers-Camden MPA program. "We'll miss his passionate arguments for his vision of the department and his subversive humor." Dr. Bailey was 50.

A celebration of Dr. Bailey's life will be held at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center at 208 West 13th Street in New York City from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2. For more information, contact Brian O'Dell at brian.odell@verizon.net. In honor of Dr. Bailey, the Department of Public Administration will hold a memorial lecture during the first week of March. Dr. Sylvester Murray of Cleveland State University will discuss the findings and recommendation of the panel he chaired for the National Academy of Public Administration, which assessed the administrative needs of the City of Camden. For more information, contact Sandra Cheesman at scheesma@camden.rutgers.edu.

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Author: Rutgers University