ALUMNI PROFILE
RUDY HASL (‘67) BY MA RY m cH UGH
R
udy Hasl (‘67) humbly reacts to comments regarding his distinction of being the longest serving law school dean in the nation. When reflecting on the past 32 years, where he worked as dean of Saint Louis University School of Law (197991), St. John’s University School of Law (1991-1998), Seattle University School of Law (2000-2005) and most recently, Thomas Jefferson School of Law (2005-2013), Hasl
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SAINT LOUIS B RIEF
talks less about his own accomplishments and accolades and, instead, focuses more on the importance of integrating social justice, community service and global awareness into the legal education process. Formation, he calls it. This interest in the formation of the whole student was something that first struck him as a student at SLU LAW in the mid-60s.
“I was really impressed by the people who were willing to engage with me individually and seemed to be genuinely interested in my development,” Hasl recalls. “And then, in 1971, when I returned to SLU as a torts professor, I found that same spirit was still there. SLU is an institution where we really tried to embody the Jesuit tradition in each student, focusing on the total development, rather than teaching them just law.”