Barbara Buchanan Lewis, the first woman to serve as dean of the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, died in Louisville on November 7. She was 79 years old.
A native of Campbellsville, Kentucky, Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctorate from the University of Louisville. She earned a master’s degree in education from Tennessee Technological University and a master’s degree in taxation law from College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Prior to her career in academia, Professor Lewis worked as an attorney for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She taught at the law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and the College of Law at the University of Oklahoma. In 1982, Lewis was appointed dean of the School of Law at the University of Louisville. She served in that role until 1990. After stepping down as dean, Professor Lewis taught taxation law at the University of Louisville until her retirement in 2006 and then continued to teach as an adjunct professor until 2014.