Last week, we celebrated Don Weidner’s retirement from the faculty with an intimate reception at the law school. Faculty colleagues and staff members, along with a small number of alumni, gathered to celebrate Don’s remarkable career and to wish him well in retirement. Several guests made remarks during the event, sharing fond memories of working with Don and detailing his positive impact on them and the law school. Many people talked about Don’s extraordinary successes as dean of FSU Law. When he stepped down as dean in 2016, his list of accomplishments included leading FSU Law into the top tier of American law schools, transforming the faculty into one of the nation’s most well-respected groups of legal scholars, innovatively expanding the College of Law’s academic offerings, improving and growing the law school’s physical facilities, and creating a culture of philanthropy that rivaled the top private law schools. During the event, we also announced Don’s new title, which was unsurprisingly unanimously approved by the faculty—dean and professor emeritus. Congratulations to Don on his much-deserved retirement. We will all miss the wisdom and energy he contributed to the law school on a daily basis.

Published April 21, 2023