Veteran UA law teacher, 92, dies
Witte was once head of NCAA
FAYETTEVILLE — Al Witte, a former NCAA president and a longtime University of Arkansas at Fayetteville law professor who was well-known to Bill and Hillary Clinton, died Wednesday. He was 92.
Witte’s son, Rob, told the university that his father died of natural causes while surrounded by family and loved ones, said Darinda Sharp, a UA spokesman.
Witte, who taught a course at UA this fall, interviewed a 26-year-old Bill Clinton in 1973 for a faculty position at UA’s law school.
“After 15 minutes of talk, I found myself volunteering to lead the fight to hire [Bill Clinton],” Witte told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in October, describing his first impression of the future Arkansas governor and United States president.
“Al Witte was a wise counselor to Hillary and me when we were young faculty members at the law school,” Clinton said in a statement released by the Clinton Foundation on Wednesday night. “For more than 40 years, he never stopped the friendship or the shrewd — and often hilarious — observations and advice. He was a real gift to decades of law students and one of the
university’s greatest assets. I wish he could have lived 90 more years.”
Witte joined the UA faculty in 1957 and retired in 1994. He was known for his sharp mind and outspokenness.
Former UA board member Jim Blair said Witte had a “wicked, wicked sense of humor.”
Witte taught a course relating law to literature, and Blair said he “could have easily taught English instead of law.”
While a UA faculty member, Witte became deeply involved in college sports, serving as faculty athletics representative during a time of rising fortunes for Razorback sports and of turmoil involving conference alignment. He held leadership positions in the Southwest Conference and led the NCAA from 1989-91.
Former Razorbacks head football coach Frank Broyles, in a statement released by UA, described Witte as a “valued advisor to me” who provided important counsel “in many pivotal moments of our history including the decision to move to the Southeastern Conference.”
Broyles said Witte was “passionate and direct with thoughts” and was a “treasured friend.”
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sports columnist Wally Hall wrote in 1995 that Witte
could be “fun and delightful, or gruff, tough and as ruthless as any situation requires.”
Others also observed his contradictory nature. Hillary Clinton, who married Bill Clinton in 1975 and served with him on the UA law faculty in the 1970s, wrote that Witte was a good-natured debater in her Living History memoir.
He “claimed the title of toughest law professor but was really a softie underneath,” she wrote.
Born in Pittsburgh and raised after age 4 by his mother in a single-parent household, he lived with extended family members in a crowded two-bedroom home in Pennsylvania. Witte earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for his military service in World War II, which included flying missions as a bombardier over heavily guarded oil fields in Germany.
In his final years, Blair said, Witte could be found weekly playing liar’s poker at Art’s Place, a Fayetteville tavern. Witte left a lasting impression on those who knew him, according to Stacy Leeds, the current UA law school dean.
“Al Witte will be missed by all of us, students, faculty, staff, graduates and the legal community as a whole,” Leeds said in a statement released by UA. Leeds noted Witte’s six decades of teaching. “He has shaped generations of graduates through his intellect, insight and legendary quick wit.”