A former Howard University law school dean whose groundbreaking career in the legal profession and academia led to a national diversity award being named after him has died at age 80.
Henry Ramsey Jr. died March 14, a few days after suffering a stroke at his Berkeley, Calif., home.
A judge, educator, lawyer, politician and Korean War veteran, Ramsey capped a 30-year career in California by serving as Howard’s law dean from 1990 to 1996. His son, Charles Ramsey, recalls his father’s pride in taking the helm of the storied law school following a long line of larger-than-life leaders such as Charles Hamilton Houston and William Henry Hastie.
“For my father, this job was a dream come true,” the younger Ramsey says.
Henry Ramsey Jr. was known nationally for inclusiveness and increasing the quality of law practice and studies. An annual American Bar Association (ABA) diversity award bearing his name honors law students, law schools or student organizations whose activities advance women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender legal professionals and students.
Born in Florence, S.C., Ramsey grew up in North Carolina where segregated facilities were the norm.
