Gordon C. Boardman (Marston Class, 1978) helped shape the essence of Cooley Law School from its earliest days as a pioneer in the school’s founding era, a dedicated alumnus, and a gifted artist whose generosity and creativity left a lasting mark on the institution and all who knew him.
Boardman attended Cooley when the law school was just beginning its mission of expanding access to legal education. Like many of Cooley’s earliest graduates, he laid the foundation of the law school’s character and legacy through his intellect, determination, and commitment to community.
While Boardman built a distinguished legal career, he was equally recognized for his remarkable talent as an artist. His work was exhibited from Detroit to New York and earned praise from respected critics across the country. Yet despite his accomplishments, Boardman remained deeply connected to the Cooley community.
In 2016, he made an extraordinary gift to the law school by donating a substantial collection of his artwork, a gesture that reflected both his artistic passion and his enduring gratitude to the institution that helped launch his professional life. In December 2018, Cooley Law School celebrated that generosity with a special exhibition and reception at the Cooley Center in Lansing, where his paintings transformed the 10th floor into a vibrant showcase of creativity, thought, and expression.
Among the featured works was “The Triptych, Trifurcatedly Separate But Equal,” a striking piece donated in 2002 that reflected Boardman’s bold artistic vision and intellectual depth. During the exhibition opening, alumni, faculty and friends gathered not only to admire his work, but to celebrate the man behind it – someone remembered as thoughtful, talented, generous, and deeply devoted to his community.
Pam Heos, who retired as Cooley’s director of alumni and donor relations and curator of the collection, said it best at the time: “Gordon is a talented artist who continues to give back to his community in Kalamazoo, as well as the Cooley community where he generously donated a substantial art collection.”
Today, the Cooley community mourns the loss of Gordon Boardman while celebrating a life rich in achievement, creativity and service. His legacy lives on not only through the legal profession and the many people he impacted personally, but also through the artwork he entrusted to the law school.
Gordon Boardman will be remembered with gratitude, admiration and respect.
Learn more about Gordon Boardman's story in the Winter 2016 issue of Benchmark Magazine.