Director, School of Law Library and Associate Professor
2013
Bio:
Professor Byron Cooper joined the School of Law as the Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law in 1983. In 1991 he assumed the additional responsibilities of the position of Associate Dean in which capacity he served for thirteen years. During that time and until his retirement he retained his responsibilities and title of Director of the Law Library. He was promoted to Full Professor in the School of Law at the beginning of the 2006/2007 academic year.
Beyond Professor Cooper’s extraordinary and successful management of the library, he was also engaged in teaching. He, along with another professor, developed the university’s nationally recognized Applied Legal Theory and Analysis program. He researched and prepared a new and innovative course in the Practical Application of Legal Writing, Research, Theory, Analysis and Application to replace a formal traditional course of Legal Writing and Research. Professor Cooper taught courses in English Legal History and Property.
For the School of Law, Cooper chaired or co-chaired the preparations for four of the American Bar Association inspections and Self-Studies. He served on several law school committees, including those concerned with admissions, joint degree programs, curriculum, dean search, and the McElroy Lecture. He organized faculty retreats on professional skills, teaching methods, and law school mission and objectives.
Professor Cooper authored numerous journal articles on subjects including Property Law on the Internet, Integration of Theory, Doctrine, and Practice in Legal Education, Researching Online Real Estate Records in Michigan, The Bar Exam and Law Schools, Continuing Problems with Michigan’s Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship, Role of Publishing Houses in Developing Legal Research and Publication, Cataloging Loose-Leaf Publications, Anglo-American Legal Citations: Its Historical Development and Library Implications, and Personnel Procedures and Practices in Local Public Library Administration. In addition, he co-authored a number of other articles with colleagues in the field of law.
His service to the law profession includes Vice President and President of the Michigan Association of Law Libraries, Copyright Committee and lobbyist for the American Association of Law Libraries that successfully brought about changes in the liability of online service providers in the bill creating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. For the American Association of Law Libraries, he also served as a member of the Placement Committee, Special Committee on Citation Reform, Secretary/Treasurer of Micrographics and Audio-Visual Special Interest Section, and the Law Library Journal Advisory Committee.
While Director of the Law Library he served as a member of the Executive Committee, Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Research and Publications Committee, Michigan State Bar Association, Legal Education and Professional Standards Committee, Michigan State Bar Association, and Chair of the Conference of Law Libraries, Association of Jesuit College and Universities. In support of the general library community, Professor Cooper served in multiple capacities, including Chairperson of the Michigan Library Consortium.
Professor Cooper has an earned Bachelor of Arts in Classical Languages and Literature (1968), a Master’s of Science in Education/Economics (1973), a Juris Doctor from the School of Law (1997) and a Master’s of Library Science (1978) all from Indiana University. He held positions as Assistant Director for Collection Development and Associate Director of Indiana University Law Library.
Professor Cooper’s nomination for Professor Emeritus status was approved and conferred by Dr. Antoine M. Garibaldi, President of University of Detroit Mercy on August 19, 2013. Professor Cooper entered eternal life on August 14, 2018.