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New NJC Faculty Chair, Hon. Daniel P. Ryan Knows the Importance of Judicial Education
in Michigan

4/8/2009

The National Judicial College’s (NJC) new faculty council chair, Hon. Daniel P. Ryan, of Detroit, Mich., said the importance of justice grows more crucial during times of financial hardship. As faculty council chair, Judge Ryan, who sits on the Michigan circuit court bench, is hopeful judges will continue to benefit from NJC’s Michigan Judicial Education Scholarship Fund.

Nearly 1,000 Michigan judges have attended courses at The National Judicial College. Hundreds have received scholarships from the NJC which enabled those judges to take advantage of challenging national judicial education programs. As judicial education funds are being reduced on a national, state and local level, the NJC still continues to offer Michigan judges financial assistance to attend courses. One way to help Michigan judges attend the NJC is by donating a tax-deductible gift to the Michigan Judicial Education Scholarship Fund established at the NJC. A Michigan judge can apply for a scholarship to attend a course at any time during his or her judicial career. Judges can contact the NJC scholarship office at 1-800-255-8343 or email Rebecca Bluemer for more information.

As chair of the faculty council, Judge Daniel P. Ryan plays an important role in the NJC’s diverse volunteer faculty. The faculty council consists of nine members who help ensure that quality-teaching standards are maintained and that the curriculum offered is relevant, challenging and invigorating to today’s judges.

The Ryan family has a long history of support of The National Judicial College. His father, Hon. James L. Ryan, has taught for the NJC since 1971. As a child, Judge Daniel P. Ryan came to the College during eight summers while his father taught courses. Although his father never pushed him to follow his own career path, Judge Ryan said his father and the NJC were positive influences on his life. Judge Ryan’s father, who also lives in Detroit, serves on the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and has been on the bench for more than 40 years.

After seven years as a lawyer in Michigan, Judge Daniel P. Ryan took a seat on the bench in 1994. He began teaching Evidence courses at the NJC in 1996, a subject his father also taught. In addition, Judge Ryan has also taught General Jurisdiction, Complex Litigation, Ethics and Special Courts Jurisdiction courses. A 2000 master’s graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, and the NJC’s Judicial Studies program, Ryan was accepted in 2003 into the Ph.D. program and is slated to graduate in 2009.