“Professor Immel represents everything that is good and true about our profession — I think he taught Atticus Finch how to be a lawyer.” — Attorney Doreen Dodson, ’74
“Vince Immel embodied and exemplified the Ignatian vision of rigorous demands and genuine interest in the whole person. He communicated those values to generations of students through personal example.” — Rudolph C. Hasl, ’67, Dean, President and Professor of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law; and former Dean of Saint Louis University School of Law, 1979-1991
in my name,” Professor Immel said at the ceremony. In a moving speech at the installation, Professor Goldstein expressed that “none of us will ever approach the impact Vince has had on graduates of this law school. Vince was dedicated to teaching. I have often heard professionals say that they love their job so much they would do it for free. I have only met one person who practiced that sentiment.” Professor Immel donated 13 years of unpaid time to the School of Law. In 1990, he reached the mandatory retirement age at the University, but he wasn’t ready to stop teaching. He took emeritus status and taught a full course load without pay until 2003, continuing to serve as the endearing father figure at the oldest law school west of the Mississippi River. Over the years, Professor Immel received numerous awards, including the First School of Law Senior Faculty Award in 1973, the Excellence in Teaching Award in 1995 and the Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 1999. In 1981, the University recognized him as the Teacher of the Year, and three years later, the law school established the Vincent C. Immel Scholarship endowment. The Lawyers Association of St. Louis honored him in 2000 with its annual Award of Honor, the association’s most prestigious award. “He was so excited about being recognized by the Lawyers Association and was proud to be honored by trial attorneys, especially because he had never practiced as a trial attorney,” recalls Professor FitzGibbon. Even at the end, Professor Immel would come to the law school every Tuesday to visit and talk with faculty and students and to catch up on correspondence. “He was a fixture at the School of Law,” Dean Lewis says. “Vince was fully engaged. He was sharp as a tack and quick with a smile and a chuckle up to the end.”
Vintage Vince
ent C. Immel Professor Vinc
and Professor
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Peter W. Salsich
The keen mental acuity that made him a strategic soldier and master teacher also parlayed into a proclivity for playing blackjack. Just weeks before he died, Professors Thomas L. Greaney, Sandra H. Johnson and Alan M. Weinberger took Professor Immel to the Casino Queen. “For hours he did not make one mistake, or hesitate once, and that cannot be said about the rest of us,” Greaney says. “His amazingly clear analytical mind and quick wit never faded.” While the dealer was shuffling, the SLU LAW professors asked their mentor where he developed his penchant for cards. Professor Immel explained he was stationed at the
bottom of a ship headed across the Atlantic during World War II. A single, red bulb cast a faint glow in the pitch-black bowels of the ship, allowing the troops just enough light to play cards for three days before heading to battle. “He loved scotch, blackjack and his rosary — a classic Vince combination,” says Professor Johnson. He also had an affinity for classical music, boasting a collection of more than 2,000 classical records and discs. As a lifelong bachelor — whose heart belonged to the elusive Esmeralda — Professor Immel led an active social life, which often centered around his students. “He had amazing relationships with his students,” Professor Johnson explains. “He loved them, and they loved him back.” He went to their parties, weddings, happy hours and even served as a character witness in court for a few of them. Each and every March 15, students would help Professor Immel celebrate his birthday with a sheet cake and a bottle of single-malt scotch. Students also performed at the annual talent show in his honor as the Vince Immel Dancers, the Rockette-esque chorus line dressed like him (short-sleeved white shirts, skinny ties and high-waisted pants) grinned like him and kicked their feet in high honor of him. And no one laughed louder or longer than Professor Immel. The evidence of that enduring student-teacher bond is compelling: How else could he vividly remember the names of students 40 and 50 years after he taught them? His encyclopedic memory instantly recalled not only the names of students whom he taught but also their résumés. “My most rewarding times are when I was invited by former students to their installations as judges or to their award ceremonies,” Immel once said. “It’s a joy to bask in their glory.”
An Eternal Influence
Beneath that gruff German demeanor, there was a deeply humble man with a heart of gold and a devout spirit. “Outside of class he was a sweet, gentle man,” says Stephanie Haley, the School of Law clerical supervisor, who worked for Professor Immel for more than 25 years. “I never experienced his wisdom in the classroom, but I learned from him the importance of family, faith and friendship. He was one-of-a-kind and an amazing man. I loved our talks and time together. People asked me how I could work for him because he was so gruff, and I’d say he’s really just a big teddy bear.” Rather than withering in fear (like his young law students) children melted the scowling stare and stern
exterior and brought out Professor Immel’s playful, kind-hearted spirit. “After meeting Vince, my (then) 4-year-old daughter would ask if we could see that man who growls then laughs like a bowl full of jelly,” Professor Johnson says. Professor Johnson’s affection for Professor Immel began when she joined the faculty in 1978, during an era when there were fewer female law professors nationally. “He went out of his way to make women, both faculty and law students, feel like we belonged and were valued,” she says. “He would make a point to mention female judges and attorneys in class and conversation. He was really an advocate for women.” Professors Johnson — along with Professors Salsich, FitzGibbon and Goldstein — explain that Immel served as a sage mentor to them as new faculty members, offering guidance and insight, but never imposing his approach on them. “He always told me to ‘teach from my own personality — be the teacher you are, that is the only way to be a good teacher’,” Professor Johnson recalls. Professor FitzGibbon adds she’ll always be indebted to Professor Immel as a student and colleague. “As I prepared to teach my first Contracts classes, I was amazed at how often and vividly Vince’s presentations sprang to my mind,” she says. “He was generous with his time, advice and perspective. From insight on exam questions to sharing his syllabus, he gave me invaluable counsel and support.” Professor Immel also served as an inspiration
beyond the classroom, explains Joe Bartholomew, ’84, who served as a pallbearer at his funeral. “He honored the law and its importance to society and lived by an unwavering code of ethics,” he says. “He was extremely dedicated to the University and to God, both of which were very evident in his life.” A pronounced spiritual side dwelt within Professor Immel, touching everything he did. “He was a deeply religious man, but he never forced his values on others,” says Haley, who grew to become like a daughter to Immel. “He went to daily mass at the Cathedral and sat in the same pew for 40 years. He was truly a Christian man, extremely kind and giving and he never wanted recognition or anything in return.” Professor Immel, deemed by many as the “Patron Saint of the Law School,” symbolizes the soul of Saint Louis University School of Law. Vincent C. Immel died on Nov. 26, 2009 — Thanksgiving Day — but his generous spirit and inimitable inspiration will live on for an eternity. “It was the last gift he gave us — dying on the morning of Thanksgiving Day,” says Keefe, who also was a pallbearer at Professor Immel’s funeral at the Cathedral Basilica. “It’s a poignant metaphor because it serves as a great reminder of how thankful and blessed we are that Vince was part of our lives. God created Vince Immel to teach, and he shared that extraordinary gift — which allowed generations of us to become great lawyers — until the very end.”
“There are a vast number of lawyers around the world who credit Professor Immel personally for a large measure of their success — he put the fire in the bellies of many who started law school to simply bide time. He infused in so many of us an enduring love of the law. Vince, my friend, we are all in your debt.” — Attorney Robert Ritter, ’68
“When you have difficult decisions to make you see the head of one of your professors over your shoulder and you listen to his advice and counsel. I think no greater tribute can be paid to a former teacher than to see his head everlastingly over your shoulder. I suspect many of you have occasions when you see Vince there everlastingly over your shoulder.” — Joel K. Goldstein, the Vincent C. Immel Professor of Law
* Quotes are a compilation of recent interviews, past articles and letters.
Celebration of Life Ceremony April 5 at 5:30 p.m., Busch Student Center, Saint Louis Room Please join alumni, faculty and friends as they reflect on Professor Immel’s legacy. We are collecting memories and tributes to be presented to Professor Immel’s family. To submit your memories of Professor Immel and to R.S.V.P. for the ceremony, visit law.slu.edu/Immel.
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