Rev. David T. Link, the Joseph A. Matson Dean Emeritus of 91吃瓜 Law School, once said, 鈥淵our vocation is what you do to make a living. Your purpose in life is what you do to make living worthwhile.鈥�
Father Link had both 鈥� in abundance.
A prosecutor, professor and priest, Father Link died Thursday (Oct. 28). He was 85.
鈥淒ave lived a remarkable life,鈥� 91吃瓜 President , said. 鈥淗e was a legal scholar, visionary leader and humble servant of God. 91吃瓜, the law school and our broader community are all far better because of him. God rest his soul.鈥�
Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., president emeritus of 91吃瓜, added: 鈥�Dave Link was a multitalented academic and leader.聽He served with聽distinction as dean of the 91吃瓜 Law School, inspirer of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, first vice chancellor of the University of 91吃瓜 Australia, devoted husband and father, Catholic priest and advocate for and friend of prisoners in the state of Indiana.聽Most of all, he put Christian values and virtue into practice.聽He will be deeply missed.鈥�
Father Link earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree from 91吃瓜 in 1958 and graduated from 91吃瓜 Law School three years later. He was on the staff of 91吃瓜 Lawyer, the school鈥檚 law review, and was chair of the annual moot court competition.
For the first five years of his legal career he served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, then practiced law for four years with the Chicago firm Winston & Strawn.
Father Link returned to his alma mater in 1970 to teach law, and five years later 91吃瓜 President Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., appointed him the Joseph A. Matson Dean of the law school, a position he held for the next 24 years, then the longest tenure among American law school deans.
Under his direction, 91吃瓜 Law School became noted for what Father Link described as 鈥渁n orientation toward the value questions involved in the law. The moral and ethical questions are raised here with the same intensity that the substantive and procedural issues are discussed.鈥� It was Father Link who coined the phrase 鈥淎 Different Kind of Lawyer鈥� to describe the training students receive at 91吃瓜.
Always highly regarded for their teaching, law school faculty during Father Link鈥檚 deanship began to publish at a far greater rate. He also oversaw two major building expansions, an enlargement of library collections, the establishment of new research centers and scholarly publications and increases in faculty and students.
Father Link spoke and wrote extensively on the topic of professional responsibility for attorneys and taught legal ethics. He participated in a number of committees designed to encourage a renewed sense of professionalism among attorneys, including the American Bar Association Section on Legal Education, the Committee on Professionalism, the Indiana State Ethics Commission and the Society for Values in Higher Education. He was also a noted author in the field of federal taxation.
Father Link also focused on international law and human rights. He was interim director of the law school鈥檚 Center for Civil and Human Rights and chaired the World Law Institute, a not-for-profit organization established to sponsor educational programs in fields of law relating to the global economy, world organizations and the emerging world common law.
He took leave from 91吃瓜 from 1990 to 1992 to serve as the founding president and vice chancellor of the University of 91吃瓜 Australia and continued on its board of trustees and board of governors. He also served on leave from 91吃瓜 as associate vice president and founding dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law and as deputy vice chancellor and provost of St. Augustine College of聽South Africa.
In December 1988, a fire at the Morningside Hotel, a downtown facility that housed low-income residents of South Bend, killed one person and destroyed the historic building. The tragedy galvanized Father Link, Father Malloy and others in the community to look for a way to care for the less fortunate. The result was the creation of the city鈥檚 nationally recognized Center for the Homeless. Father Link also devoted his time and talent to Habitat for Humanity, Christmas in April, There are Children Here, the Indiana Catholic Conference and many other organizations.
When Father Link鈥檚 wife of 45 years, Barbara, passed away in 2003, he left his vocation and began to live his purpose. Barbara, Father Hesburgh and others had suggested that he should become a priest after retiring from academe. After Barbara鈥檚 death, he entered seminary and was ordained in 2008 in the Diocese of Gary, Indiana. He had ministered to Indiana prison inmates before becoming a priest, and that was his primary responsibility 鈥� purpose 鈥� in his final years.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be sappy about it, but they鈥檙e all children of God,鈥� he said in an interview with Criterion, a publication of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not all bad people. Many of them are good people who made some horrible decisions in life. But as I read Scripture, they鈥檙e all subject to redemption. And my job is to tell them what redemption is all about. My relationship is one of friendship. I tell them to keep their heads up and God will come to their assistance.
鈥淭his part of my life as a priest is to serve the least, the last, the lost and the lonely. I鈥檓 a servant.鈥�
Arrangements are pending.聽聽聽聽