George D. Haimbaugh Jr., 1916 - 2005

The School of Law community mourns the loss of George Dow Haimbaugh Jr., who died on July 18, 2005. He joined the faculty in 1963, specializing in Constitutional and International Law. He later held the David W. Robinson chair. Upon his official retirement from the School of Law in 1987, he was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by Governor Carroll Campbell. He continued to teach International Law at the law school until 1997. Haimbaugh distinguished himself in service to his country, the law school, the state and his church. The breadth of his acquaintance and impact was made clear by a story told at his memorial service. When Prof. Haimbaugh took his students to view an argument at the United States Supreme Court, the students were surprised to witness Chief Justice Rehnquist greet Haimbaugh with a casual, "Hello, George," as the justices filed into the courtroom. Prof. Haimbaugh was much loved by members of the law school community, and will be sorely missed, but his influence here and elsewhere will be felt for years to come.

Comments from John E. Montgomery, past Dean of the School of Law

George Haimbaugh was an erudite, sophisticated and well-traveled man. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of world affairs and international and constitutional law. He never stopped learning and researching.

George knew everyone. Countless prominent visitors to the law school stopped by to see George and say hello. When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spoke at the law school several years ago, he walked into George's office and said, "Hi, George, great to see you again - your office looks positively piggish!"

That was another wonderful side of George - he was a collector of books, periodicals, old newspaper clippings and other things. His office was a treasure trove and when law librarians were missing a book, it usually was in George's office.

George loved teaching and loved people. They returned his affection. In all my travels and visits with alumni over the years, everybody always asked about how Professor Haimbaugh was doing and lawyers often stopped by to say hello to him when they were in the building.

A lover of people, a scholar and student of world affairs. He was all those things and a great colleague. It was only fitting that Chief Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals paid tribute to George Haimbaugh in his law school commencement remarks a few years ago. George had a great career at our law school and touched and influenced many lives. For a man who in his youth rode a mule across the Isthmus of Panama and fought in the historic Battle of Midway in World War II, teaching law may have seemed mundane. But he loved it. We were lucky to have him for all the years he was at the USC School of Law. He is sorely missed.