Wilbur Leatherberry: our center of gravity.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 22 September 2012
• Author: Gerhart, Peter M.
• Published date: 22 September 2012
• Author: Gerhart, Peter M.

Some lead with words; some with actions. Some lead with anger; some with authority. Some lead with attitude. Those who lead with attitude are precious few, made more precious because they are so few. Bill Leathertberry leads with attitude. He projects a quiet and reasoned confidence. He is unflappable and imperturbable. He projects calm and control, evidence of a sure faith that things will work out.

Every institution needs a gyroscope, a way of finding the center of gravity that pulls people together when they want to drift apart. Bill Leatherberry played that role; he was the Case Western Reserve School of Law gyroscope--a reasoned and reasoning voice in the midst of turmoil, and a beacon to signal that we would get through the crises of the moment. He understood extremes, but he also knew that opposite extremes, if they are to be rightfully credited, must meet in the middle. And Bill pulled us to the middle. His inner calm reflected his approach to problem solving. He knew that everything most people said contained a grain of truth, but he also knew...