In this reflection, Gerald A. Fisher shares how his interdisciplinary education at Michigan State University in the 1960s laid the foundation for a lifelong career in law, teaching and community service. From winning an NCAA championship to serving communities across Michigan, Fisher reflects on how his MSU experience shaped his path.
It was great and fortunate to have a broad set of interests in undergraduate school at Michigan State University in the 1960s. It was equally fortunate that MSU accommodated those interests by offering the Social Science Interdisciplinary program that allowed me to focus on business, English and psychology, while enjoying the hard sciences, as well. What a great background for ultimately practicing local government law, representing cities, villages and townships.
My interdisciplinary experience in undergraduate school was extended and fortified by the challenge of playing varsity ice hockey on the team which, at that time, had a majority of players who grew up in Canada, from British Columbia to Ontario. We traveled far and wide and, in 1966, won the NCAA Championship.
Following graduation with a bachelor’s degree from MSU, I stayed with a good thing and picked up a master’s degree from MSU and a Juris Doctor (law degree) from Detroit College of Law (now part of MSU Law) while serving as a law clerk in the Oakland County Circuit Court. A few years later, I received a Master of Law degree from Wayne State University, where I concentrated on corporations and securities, with a master’s thesis on financing public infrastructure.
Having taken a summer course in British Land Use in London, England, in 1970, my compass was fixed on local government law. I went on to serve as general counsel for several cities (including Novi), villages (including Bingham Farms) and townships (including Bloomfield and West Bloomfield) and served as special counsel for several dozen communities throughout Michigan.
After practicing for some 30 years as a local government attorney and appearing in many cases in the Michigan Supreme Court representing local government interests, my enjoyment of academics got the best of me: I was called to be a professor at WMU Cooley Law School in Auburn Hills, where I taught full-time for 15 years in constitutional law and property law.
This academic interest allowed me to become an author, publishing the following: “Local Government Law, A Practical Guidebook for Public Officials on City Councils, Community Boards and Planning Commissions,” published in May 2021 by Routledge; a contributing co-editor of “Michigan Municipal Law,” initially appearing in 2012, published by the Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education; and co-author of “Michigan Zoning, Planning and Land Use,” initially appearing in 2008, published by the Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education.
As a Distinguished Emeritus Professor, I have continued to practice, serving as general counsel for two cities, a township and a newly created village, and expect to continue practicing for the foreseeable future.
