PITT ANNOUNCES W. EDWARD SELL ENDOWED FACULTY CHAIR

PITTSBURGH, May 31 -- The University of Pittsburgh School of Law recently established its first fully funded faculty chair in honor of W. Edward Sell. Funds raised at a dinner last year to commemorate Sell's 50 years of teaching contributed to creating the W. Edward Sell Endowed Faculty Chair, which had been the W. Edward Sell Professorship.

Douglas M. Branson, who joined the Pitt law faculty in 1996 as the

W. Edward Sell Professor of Business Law, will fill the chair. He is one of the top corporate law experts in the country. His most recent book is "Corporate Governance," published by Michie & Co.

"The establishment of the first faculty chair at the School of Law is a very exciting event," said David Herring, law school dean. "It is even more exciting because it is a chair in Ed Sell's name. Dean Sell has been the cornerstone of this law school for over 50 years. The Sell Chair will allow us to retain an outstanding business law teacher and scholar. Doug Branson is a star in legal education, and living proof of the powerful benefits provided by faculty chairs."

Sell began his teaching career at Pitt in 1947 after graduating from Yale Law School. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Washington and Jefferson College in 1944, graduating magna cum laude. He served as a full-time professor of law, longer than any other person in the history of the school, and was dean from 1966 to 1977.

Sell's expertise of corporate law made him known as the "Father of Pennsylvania's Modern Business Corporation Statute." He is the author of several books and scholarly titles on corporate law, including a multi-volume work, "Pennsylvania Business Corporations," considered a standard in the Pennsylvania legal community.

A recipient of both the Law School's Excellence-in-Teaching Award and the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award, Sell is now Emeritus Distinguished Service Professor and Dean Emeritus at the Law School. He also serves as consultant on judicial education to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

A native of Hanover, PA, Sell lives in Mt. Lebanon with his wife, Cordelia. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, American Law Institute (Life Member), American Bar Foundation (Life Fellow), the Allegheny County Bar Association, and the Masons. He has been listed in "Who's Who in America," "Directory of American Scholars," "Who's Who in American Education," and "Who's Who in American Finance."

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