Longtime Law Faculty Members Named Endowed Professors

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Cynthia Nance and Robert B Leflar

Robert B Leflar and Cynthia Nance are the new holders of endowed professorships at the University of Arkansas School of Law. Leflar was appointed as the Ben J. Altheimer Professor of Legal Advocacy and Nance was named the inaugural Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law.

“I am delighted that we are able to recognize and reward two of the law school’s most distinguished faculty members with these named professorships,” said Stacy L. Leeds, dean of the School of Law. “Professors Leflar and Nance have instructed, inspired and mentored our students and made valuable contributions to the study of law and in service to the profession.”

Endowed professorships serve a vital role in supporting the university’s mission. Funds from the endowed professorships go not only toward attracting and retaining high-caliber faculty, but also toward supporting their research and outreach.

Leflar, who also serves as a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is one of the world’s foremost experts on Japanese medicine and law. He publishes and lectures widely, often in Japanese, on the subject. As Altheimer Professor, he will select the judges for the annual Ben J. Altheimer Moot Court Competition, which provides second-year law students the opportunity to practice both oral advocacy and writing skills in an appellate advocacy competition.

Ben J. Altheimer, a successful attorney, was born in Pine Bluff, where he practiced law before moving to Chicago and establishing one of that city’s most prestigious law firms  in 1910. He frequently returned to Arkansas, where he had acquired farmland near Altheimer, a town was named for his father and uncle, who donated land to the railroad to establish a depot. He established the Ben J. Altheimer Foundation before his death in 1946 to benefit 35 programs in Arkansas, including several within the University of Arkansas System. Altheimer was the single trustee of the Ben J. Altheimer Foundation until his death, when five trustees designated by him assumed the responsibility for its continuation. It remained in existence over 50 years and was succeeded by the Ben J. Altheimer Charitable Foundation, in 1995.

“I am most honored to be appointed to the Altheimer Professorship,” said Leflar. “Mr. Altheimer’s visionary philanthropy, and that of the foundation named for him, has made a positive difference throughout our state and for generations of students. I look forward to working with our students, faculty and the bar to continue to serve our state.”

Nance recently returned to the faculty of the School of Law after serving five years as dean. She holds several leadership positions within the American Bar Association and is past chair of the American Association of Law Schools Employment Discrimination and Labor and Employment Law Sections. She was selected to hold the professorship for her excellence, commitment to law and public service, traits that the professorship’s namesake, a 1939 graduate of the law school, exemplified. 

Gordon was one of the United States’ most decorated military heroes. On Feb. 15, 1944, he faced heavy enemy gunfire over the Bismarck Sea while he piloted a seaplane and rescued 15 downed Army Air Forces soldiers. For his actions that day, he was awarded the nation’s highest military honor for bravery, the Medal of Honor. Over the course of his two years of military service, he also was honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Gold Star in lieu of a second Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with four clusters. When he returned to his native Morrilton, Gordon resumed his successful career as a lawyer and was appointed to the Workmen's Compensation Commission. In 1946, he ran for Arkansas lieutenant governor and was elected to his first of a remarkable 10 consecutive terms. Gordon was Arkansas lieutenant governor for a record 20 years, serving under four different governors.

“I am very appreciative of Mr. Gordon’s generosity and will strive to embrace and live up to values he exemplified,” said Nance. “I would like to thank Dean Leeds and the selection committee for this great honor.”