Tom Galligan (college president)

For the Jeffersonville, Indiana politician, see Tom Galligan (mayor).
Thomas C. Galligan Jr.
Galligan in 2006
27th (initially interim) President of Louisiana State University
In office
January 1, 2020 – July 5, 2021
Preceded byF. King Alexander
Succeeded byWilliam F. Tate IV
Dean of Louisiana State University's Paul M. Hebert Law Center
In office
July 1, 2016 – December
Preceded byWilliam R. Corbett (interim)
8th President of Colby-Sawyer College
In office
August 1, 2006 – June 30, 2016
Preceded byAnne Ponder
Succeeded bySusan D. Stuebner
Dean of the University of Tennessee College of Law
In office
June 1998 – July 2006
Personal details
Born (1955-09-03) September 3, 1955 (age 69)
Glen Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.[citation needed]
SpouseSusan S. Galligan
Children4
Alma materStanford University (AB)
Seattle University (JD)
Columbia University (LLM)
ProfessionCollege administrator, Lawyer, Academic

Thomas C. Galligan Jr. (born September 3, 1955) is an American lawyer, legal scholar, administrator and educator who was the Interim President of Louisiana State University.[1][2] He served as the eighth president of Colby-Sawyer College and as dean and professor of law at the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville, where he taught torts and admiralty.[3]

Galligan grew up in Montclair, New Jersey with the dream of becoming a lawyer.[4] He graduated from Montclair Kimberley Academy in 1973.[5]

Prior to taking up administrative roles, Galligan taught at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center from 1986 until May 1998. There, he was named the Dr. Dale E. Bennett Professor of Law and was honored by the students as the Outstanding LSU Professor six times. He returned to LSU as the commencement speaker in 2006, while he was then president-elect at Colby-Sawyer College.[6]

Galligan has published numerous books and articles on torts and admiralty. His scholarship has been cited in the proposed Restatement (Third) of Torts and by numerous legal scholars. Galligan's work has also been cited by the United States Supreme Court and other federal and state appellate and trial courts.

His co-authored scholarship with Professor Frank L. Maraist has been honored by the Louisiana Bar Journal and the Tulane Law Review. Recently, Galligan was honored with the University of Tennessee National Alumni Association Public Service Award for 2006 and the Knoxville Bar Association's Law and Liberty Award.[7]

His expertise in admiralty and international maritime law was widely sought after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, including by the Associated Press,[8] The Wall Street Journal,[9] and The New York Times.[10] Galligan also testified before the United States Senate's Committee on the Judiciary and the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on the Judiciary, respectively.[11][12][13]

Galligan has a passion for long-distance running and baseball statistics. He has four children, one a graduate of Bates College and two graduates of Dartmouth College, and his daughter Jennifer who graduated Pitzer College.

Galligan has run over twenty marathons, one of which he completed with his daughter, Sarah. His daughter, Jennifer, currently sits as the Senior Development and Marketing Manager of Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee.

  1. ^ "Thomas C. Galligan Jr. Named LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center Dean". LSU Law - News. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  2. ^ "President Galligan Appointed Dean of LSU's Law Center". Colby-Sawyer College. 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  3. ^ "College presidents have a major impact on N.H." New Hampshire Business Review September 15, 2006 link
  4. ^ Staff. "Q&A with: Colby-Sawyer College president Tom Galligan", New Hampshire Business Review, March 16, 2007. Accessed November 4, 2019. "From the time I was a tiny child, I said I wanted to be a lawyer, but if not a lawyer, maybe a teacher or a writer.... I went to college, and at that point in my life, I decided I didn’t want to be a lawyer. So I went home to Montclair, N.J., where I’m from originally, and got a job as a lawn doctor."
  5. ^ "Class Notes", p. 75 in MKA Review; The Magazine of Montclair Kimberley Academy. Accessed November 4, 2019. "Congratulations to Thomas C. Galligan '73, President of Colby-Sawyer College, will step down after 10 years in office on June 30, 2016."
  6. ^ "249 Receive Degrees at LSU Law Center's 2006 Commencement Exercises". LSU Law - News. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  7. ^ "Colby-Sawyer College President's Biography". colby-sawyer.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  8. ^ "Lawyers Marshal Their Suits". colby-sawyer.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  9. ^ "Lawyers Marshal Their Suits". colby-sawyer.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  10. ^ "Calls to Update Maritime Laws". colby-sawyer.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  11. ^ "President Galligan to Testify for US Senate Judiciary Committee". colby-sawyer.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  12. ^ "president galligan goes to washington". colby-sawyer.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  13. ^ "Colby-Sawyer College President Galligan Testifies for Third Time in DC". colby-sawyer.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-21.