Albert M. Witte

Albert M. Witte, age 92, retired professor from the University of Arkansas School of Law, died Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 in Fayetteville. He was born Oct. 25, 1923 in Pittsburgh, Pa., the son of Albert M. and Sara E. Witte; but lived most of his youth in Erie, Pa. Following his graduation from Erie East High School, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in Nov. 1942. During his Air Force years, he flew 35 missions with the 15th Air Force in Italy as a 2nd Lieutenant Bombardier where he was awarded an Oak Leaf Medal with five clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Following his discharge in Oct. 1945, he attended the University of Chicago, earning a Ph.B in 1947 and an M.A. in English literature in 1950. He was employed as an English instructor at Ripon College in Ripon, Wis. from 1950-1952. Thereafter, he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin School Of Law from which he received an LL.B in 1955. He then worked as an associate in the Milwaukee, Wis. law firm of Wood, Warner, Tyrell and Bruce. Witte left law practice to become a faculty member of the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1957 and except for a two-year stint at Emory University, remained a member of that faculty until his retirement in 1994, although he continued to teach part time at the law school. He also was a visiting professor at other law schools such as the Universities of Illinois, Oklahoma, Houston and UALR; he also was a frequent summer school professor at Baylor University. He was involved in a number of professionally related projects during his law school tenure. He was a member of the Fayetteville Planning Commission (1969-1971) and Board of Adjustment (1971-1974). He acted as legal consultant to the Southern Governors' Conference (1969-1971), as Director of the National Science Foundation Arkansas Constitutional Convention Project (1979-1981), and Special Assistant Arkansas Attorney General (1981-1990). For more than 20 years, Witte was the University's faculty athletic representative, a position which required him to serve in the various athletic associations in which the University was a member: the Southwest and Southeast Conferences, the College Football Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association in which he served as both Division I vice-president and later as NCAA president (1989-1991). He was a member of the Arkansas Bar Association and the Elks Lodge #1987. He is survived by a son, Robert Witte and daughter-in-law, Kim; granddaughter, Anna; and son, Michael, all of Fayetteville. It is possible that several generations of the Universities law students will remember Professor Witte with varying degrees of fondness. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 at Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville under the direction of Moore's Chapel. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Arkansas Children's Hospital, 1 Children's Way, Little Rock, AR 72202. To sign the online guest book, visit www.mooresfuneralchapel.com.