Professor A. E. Dick Howard ’61 Marks 60 Years of Teaching, Service

As a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and an expert in comparative constitutionalism and the U.S. Supreme Court, A. E. Dick Howard ’61 has shaped constitutional law for 60 years — inside and outside the classroom.

Not many living scholars can claim to have had a hand in drafting a constitution. But Howard served as executive director of the Virginia Commission on Constitutional Revision and directed the successful referendum campaign for the new state constitution’s ratification, which took effect in 1971. Howard has also been counsel to the General Assembly of Virginia and a consultant to state and federal bodies, including the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

Often consulted by constitutional draftsmen in other states and abroad, Howard has compared notes with revisers at work on new constitutions in Brazil, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Albania, Malawi and South Africa. In 1996, the Union of Czech Lawyers, citing Howard’s promotion of the idea of a civil society in Central Europe, awarded him the Randa Medal — the first time the honor had been conferred upon anyone but a Czech citizen.

In 2013, the University recognized Howard with its Thomas Jefferson Award — the highest honor given to faculty members at the University. In 2007, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Library of Virginia included Howard on their list of the “greatest Virginians” of the 20th century.

Photos capture highlights of his career by the decade.

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s