This year, Western Law will bid farewell to three long-standing professors. Ben Hovius, Robert Solomon and Bruce Welling are retiring after decades of dedicated teaching and countless contributions to legal scholarship.
Hovius, a gold medallist graduate of the Western Law Class of 1973, first joined the Faculty of Law in 1978. He taught and published extensively in the area of family law, most notably The Law of Family Property and Hovius on Family Law: Cases, Notes and Materials (eight editions). Hovius also served as Associate Editor of the Dominion Law Reports, the Canadian Criminal Cases and the Ontario Reports. He was Associate Dean (Administration) from 1999 to 2004.
“Ben will be recalled by students and colleagues as an outstandingly knowledgeable, conscientious and courteous scholar-teacher,” said long-time colleague Rande Kostal.
During an exemplary 40 years at Western Law, Robert Solomon achieved impressively in all facets of his work – teaching, research and service. His teaching will be remembered for its unique combination of learning, organization and comic wit and has been recognized with the prestigious Pleva and 3M awards. He created new and extremely popular undergraduate courses in healthcare law and policy.
In 2013, Solomon’s equally outstanding work as a scholar was honoured by Western with the Distinguished University Professorship. His policy work in the fields of addictions, healthcare and impaired driving law has had great impact across Canada and internationally. In the last decade alone, his work has influenced more than 300 legislative amendments.
“Looking at his career as a whole, Bob Solomon is probably the most completely accomplished law professor Western’s ever had,” said Dean Erika Chamberlain.
A distinguished alumnus of Western Law, Bruce Welling has been a professor at the faculty since 1975, teaching and writing in the areas of corporate law, conflicts and property law. His book, Corporate Law in Canada: The Governing Principles, is considered the leading Canadian treatise on the subject. He has written two other books on corporations and companies, as well as a leading treatise in property, Property in Things in the Common Law System.
“Bruce insisted on precision and clarity in the use and application of legal language,” said Kostal. “He will be remembered as a rigorous logician of law; in his writing and teaching.”
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