Whitten Installed as First Sekt Chair
Creighton University law professor Ralph Whitten was installed as the first holder of the Senator Allen A. Sekt Endowed Chair in Law on Sept. 8.
Whitten has been a professor of law at Creighton since 1977. Prior to that, he served on the faculty at the University of South Carolina School of Law. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Texas and has a Master of Laws degree from Harvard. He teaches and writes in the area of civil procedure and conflict of laws.
“Ralph Whitten has served the law school with distinction for over 30 years. Generations of lawyers have benefited from his knowledge and his passion. I am happy to be able to recognize his contributions in this way,” said Creighton President the Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J.
Whitten is widely acknowledged for his scholarship in the areas of civil procedure, federal courts and American conflict of laws, including his research and writing on the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution.
“The chance to have Ralph Whitten as a colleague was one of the most important reasons I came to Creighton as dean 10 years ago,” said Patrick Borchers, Vice President for Academic Affairs and former law school dean. “I am delighted that he is receiving this recognition.”
“Ralph’s erudition is unsurpassed, and his work on the Full Faith and Credit Clause has rightly earned him a national reputation,” added Eric Chiappinelli, dean of the law school. “He’s a demanding and effective teacher, as well. This is a terrific and well-deserved honor for him.”
The Sekt Endowed Chair in Law is the fourth endowed chair in the School of Law and the 33rd endowed chair at Creighton University. Endowed chairs are hallmarks of a great university.
“This endowed chair is part of Creighton’s Willing to Lead Campaign, which has thus far infused over $444 million into academic programs and the quality of student life and learning,” said Lisa Calvert, Creighton’s Vice President for University Relations. “We are pleased that Sen. Sekt’s name will forever be linked with quality teaching and scholarly endeavors in the School of Law.”
Allen Sekt graduated from Creighton School of Law in 1936 and first practiced law in Sioux City, Iowa. He later moved San Francisco, where he met his wife, Lillian.
While conducting business in Guam, he fell in love with the island and its residents; it became home to the Sekts for nearly 30 years. In Guam, Sekt launched a successful land development business, which included office and hotel projects. He started a car rental agency, a used car lot and later owned a car dealership. He even dabbled in television, hosting the popular Allen Sekt’s Talent on Parade. Perhaps most notably, Sekt was elected as a senator to the island’s legislature, and he became Guam’s voice in Congress during the 1970s.
In retirement, Sekt moved to Oahu, Hawaii, and later to Green Valley, Arizona. He died on May 25, 2007, at the age of 93, in Phoenix. Sekt left a rich legacy of public service to his adopted home of Guam and to the university he loved. Students in the School of Law have benefited from the Honorable Allen A. Sekt Endowed Scholarship, and will benefit in the future from the endowed chair that bears his name.