Longtime William Mitchell dean and professor Heidenreich dies

Doug Heidenreich, an instrumental leader and professor at William Mitchell College of Law and Mitchell Hamline School of Law for more than 60 years, died Wednesday at the age of 90.

According to a news release from Mitchell Hamline, Heidenreich joined William Mitchell’s faculty in 1963, just two years after graduating from the school. The following year, he became the school’s acting dean, and he was named permanent dean in 1965. He led William Mitchell for 11 years during a time of great growth and stepped down as dean just before the school moved to the Summit Avenue campus that — after a 2015 combination with Hamline University School of Law — became the home of Mitchell Hamline.

“He was the heart and soul of the place for so many years,” Phebe Haugen, a professor emeritus and Heidenreich’s longtime friend, said in the news release. “I can’t think of Mitchell Hamline without thinking of him.”

“There are very few people who have had more of an impact on our law school than Doug did,” said Mitchell Hamline President and Dean Anthony Niedwiecki in an email to faculty and staff announcing Heidenreich’s death. “He leaves a great legacy.”

Born in St. Paul on Feb. 29, 1932, Heidenreich attended the University of Minnesota, where he played for the Golden Gophers football team, the news release said. After serving two years with the Army tank corps in Germany, he enrolled at William Mitchell and graduated first in his class in 1961. He then spent two years at the Minneapolis firm Erickson, Popham, Haik and Schnobrich, before joining the William Mitchell faculty.

After marshaling the law school through impressive growth and preparing for a move to a new campus from its space near the University of St. Thomas, Heidenreich returned to teaching.

A notoriously hard grader, Heidenreich’s classroom ethos was rooted in challenging his students to be the best “because he knew their clients would rely on their expertise when they graduated,” according to former Mitchell Hamline Professor Colette Routel, now a Hennepin County judge.

“When he was nearing retirement, he continued to teach without receiving a salary, and then even after he retired, he continued to come to the office to tutor students who needed additional help.”

In 2000, the release said, Heidenreich wrote a history of William Mitchell College of Law called “With Satisfaction and Honor.” He also acted in a theater group of lawyers and judges that recreated historical trials of legal importance and performed at the Landmark Center for several years. His daughter Lisa is interim director of Mitchell Hamline’s Burger Library.