The Hon. Paul Gadola, who served on the Mackinac Center’s Board of Directors from 1992 to 2008, passed away today at the age of 85.

“Judge Gadola was an early board member of the Center who lent us his good name, as well as his guidance and wisdom, beginning at a time when we had no reputation to lose,” said Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman. “As he served for nearly two decades, the Mackinac Center became the nation’s largest and most effective state-based think tank. We will always be grateful to Paul and we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the Gadola family.”

Gadola was a trial lawyer in Flint for 25 years before being named a federal judge by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. A founding member of the Flint ACLU chapter, he received that group’s lifetime achievement award. He also served as a board member for the Urban League of Greater Flint and the Genesee County chapter of the NAACP.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.