Retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice Herbert R. Brown was honored in July as a recipient of the Upper Arlington Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He celebrated his 70th class reunion during the summer.
After graduating from Upper Arlington High School, Justice Brown began his career in the Army Judge Advocates General (JAG) office, then moved on to a successful career as an attorney. In 1987, he became the 142nd justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and served until 1993. Since then, he has published many plays and books and serves as an adjutant professor at The Ohio State University College of Law.
Below are his responses:
Notable achievements at Upper Arlington High School
First, I need to acknowledge the unpayable debt I owe to my teachers. Not only were they outstanding at what they did, but they became personally involved - had close relationships with us students. In particular, I must mention V.K. Randall and Gertrude “Ellen” Mann, the two English teachers. They are at the heart of my passion for writing.
As for achievements, I suppose being editor of The Arlingtonian, a stringer for the Columbus Citizen and for the Tri-Village News might count. But I really feel that the best achievement was the overall experience of Upper Arlington High School.
College / career experiences
I am a huge fan of the liberal arts education. Courses like theater arts and music appreciation may not seem practical, but the total experience of a liberal arts education at Denison University proved to be superb preparation for law school. Again, it was my teachers (professors) who mattered most. Dr. Lionel Crocker (speech and debate) believed in me as a public speaker and arranged a tour for me and my debate partner to a national tournament in Boston and to debates at Princeton, West Point and Fordham among others. We ended the season going undefeated in the Ohio debate tournament. In Denison’s all student speaking contest, I placed second.
Professor Shoemaker (English) believed in me as a writer, encouraged me and arranged for me to be a stringer for the Newark Advocate.
Law school at the University of Michigan was life-changing. It was a privilege to live in the magnificent, Gothic ‘Law Quadrangle’ (we actually had maid service, which included having our beds made every morning). But the subject matter in law school (which covers the rules that govern every activity a person can engage in from birth to death) was riveting, and this was the first time I buckled down as a student. I was an assistant editor of the University of Michigan Law Review.
How did UA Schools prepare you for success?
Tough to give a precise answer to this. But it would include preparation socially, intellectually and in the development of “curiosity” about who I (we) am/are, our world and the possibilities that then lay ahead.