Herman Oliphant

Who was Herman Oliphant?

Herman Oliphant was a professor of law. He started at the University of Chicago, going to Columbia University in 1922. He was originally from Forest, Indiana, the grandson of William Oliphant, an early pioneer of that area. Herman grew up on the family farm. In 1903, he graduated from Forest High School and attended Marion College. He returned home in 1905 to marry his childhood sweetheart, Julia Sims. In 1907, he graduated from Marion College and then went on to obtain degrees from Indiana University and his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1914. Shortly after his arrival at Columbia University, he wrote to the university's president, Nicholas Murray Butler, outlining some plans he had for reorganizing the curriculum of the law school. Essentially, his goal was to transform the school into a research center, placing particular emphasis on the interaction of the law and other social sciences. Under the administration of Huger Jervey, who became dean of the law school in 1924, Oliphant's plans were used as the basis for a reorganization of the law school.

In his 1928 inaugural address as President of the American Association of Law School, Herman Oliphant said: "Our case material is a gold mine for scientific work. It has not been scientifically exploited... We should critically examine all the methods now used in any of the social sciences and having any useful degree of objectivity."