July 5, 2006

SIU Med School Establishes the Theodore R. LeBlang Lectureship

A Distinguished Lectureship in Law and Medicine has been established to honor Theodore R. LeBlang, J.D., professor emeritus, for his commitment to law and medicine.

"This lectureship will help carry forward Ted’s 31-year legacy of creative and effective teaching about important issues of medicine and law," said Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, Ph.D., dean and provost of the medical school. "The funds raised for this lectureship will bring guest speakers to campus as a way to honor his contributions to medical student education at SIU."

LeBlang retired this spring as professor and chair of the medical humanities department (1993-2006). He served as the medical school's legal counsel from 1975-92 and was founding director of the M.D.-J.D. dual degree program with SIUC School of Law.

He was editor of the Journal of Legal Medicine (1982-2003) and now is editor emeritus. He continues as associate editor of Health Care Lawyer. He was editor-in-chief of the Illinois Bar Journal (2000-02) and co-author of The Law of Medical Practice in Illinois, now in its second edition. He was co-annotator of the Code of Medical Ethics: Current Opinions with Annotations, published by the American Medical Association (1992-2006).

LeBlang served as president of the American College of Legal Medicine and has been a fellow since 1991. He was founding chair of the standing committee on bar publications for the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) and received the ISBA Board of Governors Award for exemplary service to the legal profession in 1995. He is a member of the American Bar Association.

He earned his law degree at the University of Illinois (1974) and his bachelor's degree at Pennsylvania State University (1970).

A native of Philadelphia, LeBlang is married to Pam LeBlang and has two children.

Contributions for the lectureship can be made to the SIU Foundation, P.O. Box 19666, Springfield, Ill. 62794-9666.

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