Portrait of E. Thomas Sullivan (1995).
Arizona Law Deans Portrait Collection. Digitized by: Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, Special Collections.
DEAN E. THOMAS SULLIVAN: 1989-1995
Before Arizona Law
E. Thomas Sullivan majored in political science and graduated from Drake University with his bachelor of arts degree in 1970.[1] In 1973, he graduated magna cum laude from the Indiana University School of Law with his juris doctor degree.[2] In addition to doing well academically, Sullivan served as articles editor of the Indiana Law Review.[3]
Before his deanship, Sullivan clerked for a federal district judge, practiced law as a trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division, and went on to teach law for a decade.[4] First, he taught at the University of Missouri Law School in Columbia, from 1979-1984, and then at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law from 1984-1989, where he also served as Associate Dean.[5]
Tenure as Dean
Sullivan began his deanship at the University of Arizona Law on July 1, 1989.[6] He also served as a professor of law while at University of Arizona Law.[7] In Spring of 1991, Sullivan celebrated the 75th Anniversary of Arizona Law.[8]
While dean, Sullivan served as a member and chair of multiple organizations.[9] Sullivan was a member of the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Arizona from 1989-1995. He also served as a member of the legal writing committee, ABA Section of the Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar from 1987-1993, and as a member of the AALS Antitrust and Economic Regulation Section Executive Committee from 1987-1990. He chaired multiple AALS Committees, including Special Committee on Legal Affairs, Antitrust and Economic Regulation Section, ABA/AALS Joint Conference on Disability Issues, and the State bar of Arizona Task Force on Elections.
Close-up of E. Thomas Sullivan (unknown date).
Arizona Law Deans Portrait Collection. Digitized by: Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, Special Collections.
Sullivan encouraged legal scholarship as well as legal education at the College of Law. The faculty published 98 books and supplements and 200 articles during Sullivan’s six years as dean.[10] He spoke at over 30 engagements around the United States, including invited lectures, conferences, and seminars.[11]
While at University of Arizona Law, Dean Sullivan’s wife, Susan Adora Maxon Sullivan, Ph.D., was president and board member of the Tucson Association for Child Care and the University of Arizona Heart Center Advisory Board.[12] Sullivan stepped down as the Dean of the University of Arizona Law in 1995.[13] He credited Susan for her counsel and support during his deanship at the University of Arizona College of Law.[14]
Retirement and Beyond
Sullivan was selected as the Dean of the University of Minnesota School of Law in 1995 and served in that position until 2002. Sullivan had the unique distinction of being the eighth dean of both the University of Arizona and University of Minnesota law schools.[15]
In addition to Sullivan’s many successes, he also endured a heartbreaking loss. In 2001, while at Minnesota Law, Susan passed away following a cancer battle that lasted more than four years.[16] He and Susan were married for 29 years.
In 2004, Sullivan became the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of the University of Minnesota.[17] He served in these roles for eight years, during which he married Leslie Black Sullivan.[18] Sullivan was selected as President of the University of Vermont in 2012 and served in that position for seven years. In 2015, Sullivan earned a certificate from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education Institute for Experienced Presidents.[19] In 2019, Sullivan was named President Emeritus and remains teaching as a tenured Professor of Political Science at the University of Vermont.[20]
During his years as an educator, Sullivan taught legal topics, such as antitrust, civil procedure, complex litigation, conflicts of laws, constitutional history, constitutional law, government regulation of business, pretrial practice, and procedure.[21] He has also held various visiting appointments at Georgetown University, Cambridge University, New York University, University of California-Berkley and Clare Hall College.[22]
Sullivan is the recipient of numerous awards and honors for his teaching, dedicated public and university service, and work in professional organizations.[23] He received the University of Arizona Distinguished Service Award in 1995 followed by the Distinguished Citizen Award in 1996. The University of Minnesota Law School named him the Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year for Excellence in Teaching in 2002. In 2008, Sullivan also received the Distinguished Honorary Alumnus Award from the University of Arizona. He was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s Robert J. Kutak Award in 2015. Sullivan was awarded the Robert A. Skiff Award for Improving Educational, Community, and Economic Opportunities in 2019 from the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation. He received an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree in 2021 from Vermont Law School.
During the span of his career, Sullivan has published 14 books and more than 75 articles in a variety of subjects, including constitutional law and history, antitrust law, complex litigation, federal courts and civil procedure.[24]Sullivan continues with his academic scholarship and research, and in 2022 co-authored the book, Free Speech: From Core Values to Current Debates.[25] He remains teaching as a professor at the University of Vermont.[26]
-- Tanya Furlong (’26)
[1] Nancy J. Stiller, Editor’s Corner, 11(1) Univ. of Ariz. L. Record (Fall 1989); See also Univ. of Minn. Law School, E. Thomas Sullivan, Faculty Profiles, February 11, 2008 (on file with Univ. of Ariz. Law Library, CRG Collections); See also E. Thomas Sullivan, E. Thomas Sullivan’s Curriculum Vitae (CV), Univ. of Vt., January 2025, at 18.
[2] Nancy J. Stiller, Editor’s Corner, 11(1) Univ. of Ariz. L. Record (Fall 1989).
[3] Univ. of Minn. Law School, E. Thomas Sullivan, Faculty Profiles, February 11, 2008 (on file with Univ. of Ariz. Law Library, CRG Collections.)
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Nancy J. Stiller, Editor’s Corner, 11(1) Univ. of Ariz. L. Record (Fall 1989).
[7] Univ. of Vt., E. Thomas Sullivan’s CV, January 2025 at 1.
[8] E. Thomas Sullivan, Letter from the Dean-Memories: A Celebration of 75 Years, 12(2) Univ. of Ariz. L. Record 1 (Spring 1991).
[9] Univ. of Vt., E. Thomas Sullivan’s CV, January 2025 at 10-12.
[10] E. Thomas Sullivan, Letter from the Dean-Transitions, 16(2) Univ. of Ariz. L. Record 1 (Spring 1995).
[11] Univ. of Vt., E. Thomas Sullivan’s CV, January 2025 at 14-16.
[12] Edward S. Adams, Tribute- Dean E. Thomas Sullivan: Building a Stronger Foundation, 88 Minn. L. Rev. 29 (2003-2004).
[13] Univ. of Vt., E. Thomas Sullivan’s CV, January 2025 at 1.
[14] E. Thomas Sullivan, Letter from the Dean-Transitions, 16(2) Univ. of Ariz. L. Record 1 (Spring 1995).
[15] Nancy J. Stiller, Editor’s Corner, 11(1) Univ. of Ariz. L. Record (Fall 1989); See also Univ. of Minn. Law School E. Thomas Sullivan, Faculty Profiles, February 11, 2008 (on file with Univ. of Ariz. Law Library, CRG Collections.)
[16] Toni Massaro, Susan Sullivan, Email to Law Library Staff, Jan 10, 2001 (on file with Univ. of Ariz. Law Library, CRG Collections.)
[17] Univ. of Minn. Law School, E. Thomas Sullivan, Faculty Profiles, February 11, 2008 (on file with Univ. of Ariz. Law Library, CRG Collections.)
[18] Jack Stripling, With Presidential Hire, U. of Vermont Tests New Spouse Policy and Aims to Avert Repeat Controversy, The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 22, 2012; See also Univ. of Vt., E. Thomas Sullivan’s CV, January 2025 at 1.
[19] Univ. of Vt., E. Thomas Sullivan’s CV, January 2025, at 17.
[20] Board of Trustees, Univ. of Vt., President Emeritus Tom Sullivan (2012 – 2019).
[21] Univ. of Vt., E. Thomas Sullivan’s CV, January 2025 at 2.
[22] Id.
[23] Id.
[24] Univ. of Vt., College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science, E. Thomas Sullivan Publications; see also Univ. of Vt., E. Thomas Sullivan’s CV, January 2025 at 3-4.
[25] American Bar Foundation, E. Thomas Sullivan, President of the ABF, and Michigan Life Fellow Leonard Niehoff, Release New Book Discussing the Evolution of Free Speech, June 8, 2022.
[26] Univ. of Vt., E. Thomas Sullivan’s CV, January 2025 at 1.