Michael Dillon Returns to La Salle University To be Chair of Political Science Department

Michael Dillon has returned to the La Salle University Political Science Department not only to be its chair but also at a time when he needed a change in his life.

Dillon spent the last 22 years with the law firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP in Philadelphia. He handled environmental litigation in federal courts across the United States. “I was with the law firm when my wife was diagnosed with Leukemia in 1991,” he said. When she passed away in March of last year, “I didn’t need the bigger salary anymore,” he said. “I was looking for something different and fun.” Dillon saw that La Salle had an opening and sent his resume in, and “I was as surprised as anyone to be given the position,” he added.

A Chicago native, Dillon initially came to La Salle in 1968 to teach political science. He received his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. In 1981 he began taking classes at Temple Law School. When he graduated from there in 1985, he left to pursue his law career at Morgan Lewis. “I was looking for new challenges then,” said Dillon.

At Morgan Lewis, Dillon handled environmental litigation in federal courts across the United States. He negotiated a $300 million plus settlement with EPA and the Department of Justice at the B.R.O.S. Superfund site in New Jersey, served as lead counsel in the litigation over the South 8th Street and Gurley Pit Superfund sites in Arkansas, and was trial counsel for the long running litigation over the Davis Liquid Site in Rhode Island. Just prior to rejoining La Salle, Dillon was lead counsel for twelve major corporations at the Folcroft Landfill in the Tinicum Marsh adjacent to Philadelphia International Airport. Folcroft has the distinction of being the only Superfund site in the country to be located within the borders of a National Wildlife Refuge.

Dillon had been at the law firm for six years when he and his wife learned about her leukemia. “She was only 48,” said Dillon. “While she consulted with one of the best specialists in the country at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and had her white blood count tested ever three to six months, in place of conventional chemotherapy, my wife chose to control her leukemia with a combination of macrobiotic diet and exercise. She lived an active and energetic life for 15 years, walking our dog each day at the Wissahicken Creek in Chestnut Hill and even going back to graduate school to earn her M.A. in New Testament Scripture at age 61.”

When she contracted a vicious form of pneumonia and passed away in March of 2006, “I didn’t need the bigger salary anymore,” he says. “I was looking for something different and fun, and I was as surprised as anyone to be given the position.”

Dillon had been teaching as an adjunct prior to this year, and made an impression on his students.

“While I was at La Salle, I had the pleasure of both being taught by Dr. Dillon and later serving on the Political Science Chair Search committee when he was selected to head the department,” said Suzanne Guerin, a 2007 Political Science graduate at La Salle who is now pursuing a master’s in theology at Catholic University.

“There are not possibly enough nice things to say about him: he is an outstanding mentor and a strong leader,” said Guerin. “He knows the past and has vision for the future. I don't know if you've had the opportunity to meet with him, but I clearly remember that after having spoken to him for just a few minutes I sensed that he understood-- and embraced-- what it means to be Lasallian. I'm looking forward to seeing the direction he brings to the department.”

Dillon now teaches Constitutional Law and Political Theory. He is planning an Environmental Law course for next year. He has also started a Moot Court Program that has been well-received. “I love the subject matter I teach. I love seeing students respond to what I’m saying, to see that light in their eyes when it all makes sense to them. It’s tremendous fun,” he said.

“I’ve had outstanding cooperation from all of my colleagues,” said Dillon, “We all want to do what we can to make the department as attractive as possible to current students and future students.”

“The institution has changed a great deal since I was here in ’85,” said Dillon, “The footprint of the university has grown 200 percent. It’s amazing to see all the innovations, all the changes and all the new programs.”

-- by Bernadette McPherson