Distinguished Alumni Award Winner Profile

N. William Hines served as dean of the University of Iowa College of Law for 28 years, the longest serving dean in the university’s history. During his tenure, Hines helped establish the college as one of the nation’s top 10-ranked public law schools. 

He educated more than 10,000 students, but his impact resonates far beyond campus. His scholarship, which focused on real property law, estate planning, and environmental law, had a major impact on the development of Iowa law in those fields, and he often participated in the state bar’s efforts to promote law reform and provide high-quality continuing legal education.

While in law school at the University of Kansas, Hines served as an editor of the Kansas Law Review and worked concurrently as a clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. Upon graduation, he worked as a graduate teaching fellow at Harvard Law School. 

Hines joined the faculty at the UI College of Law in 1962 as an assistant professor and was named director of the Agricultural Law Clinic the following year. In 1973 he was named Joseph F. Rosenfield Distinguished Professor of Law and in 1976 assumed the role of dean of the College of Law.

He has served in many positions for the Association of American Law Schools, including as president in 2005, and worked as editor-in-chief of the Iowa Advocate for 28 years. 

Hines is a dedicated supporter of the Iowa Law Review and of the law program at large. Since retiring as dean, he has continued to teach part-time and champions Iowa through his long-term support and guidance at the Iowa Law School Foundation.