College of Law

This fund was established in 1997 by the NIU College of Law to honor Francis X. Riley, a distinguished faculty member who served the college through its first decade. He devoted his life to law and education. He was one of the law school’s original faculty members when it opened in 1975 at Lewis University in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. He also played an integral role with the transfer of the law school to NIU in 1978. He taught full-time until 1983 and then part-time until 1987. Highly respected among the student body, Professor Riley received the NIU Law Faculty Member of the Year Award from the classes of 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1984. In January 1993, NIU Law dedicated and renamed its moot courtroom the Francis X. Riley Courtroom. Professor Riley passed away on September 14, 2006 at the age of 93.