Richard Roddis, UW Law School Dean During The Turbulent 1970S

Richard S.L. Roddis, the former University of Washington Law School dean who saw the school through the financially and politically troubled 1970s, brought caring diplomacy to all he did.

"His greatest assets were integrity and concern for other people," said current UW Law School Dean Roland Hjorth.

Mr. Roddis, of Bellevue, died Tuesday (Feb. 16) of lung disease. He was 68.

Born in Washington, D.C., he earned a bachelor of arts degree from San Diego State University in 1951 and a law degree at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1954.

After directing the section of California's Attorney General's Office representing insurance and financial regulatory agencies, he became California's insurance commissioner in 1966.

From 1968 until his retirement in 1995 he taught tort and insurance law at the UW. He was Law School dean from 1970 to 1977.

"It was a time of financial distress in the state, and of national and international stress, so it was hard to be a dean in those days," said Hjorth.

One difficult time was in 1971 when Marcos de Funis Jr., a white honors student twice rejected for Law School admission, filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court against the UW and Mr. Roddis for "reverse discrimination."

The case focused national attention on the Law School's efforts to end bias in the legal field via preferential admissions for minorities. De Funis said he was denied admission while students with lesser qualifications were admitted. He eventually was admitted to UW Law School on a Superior Court order.

The state Supreme Court later upheld the UW. De Funis appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declared the case moot because by that time his graduation was pending.

Through that and other challenges, Mr. Roddis was a "pillar of concern, integrity and decency," said Law School colleague John Price.

At the UW and later as a consultant with Stewart Economics, Mr. Roddis was a key adviser to agencies such as the Economic Regulation Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Transportation. He also consulted on insurance regulation to the United States-Saudi Arabian Joint Economic Cooperation Commission.

He helped the Washington State Medical Association form its medical malpractice insurer (1978-1983). From 1984 to 1988, he was chairman and CEO of Unigard Mutual Insurance.

Surviving are his wife of 46 years, Joanne Roddis; his children, Kathy Meyer of Roseburg, Ore., Linda Roddis of St. Paul, Minn., Victoria Hoefer and Margaret Rumpeltes, both of Seattle, and Richard Roddis of San Francisco; and six grandchildren.

Services were scheduled at 3 p.m. today at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, 411 156th Ave. N.E., Bellevue.

Remembrances may go to the Law School Library, c/o the University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.