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Professor Emerita Eleanor DeArman Kinney passed away on Friday, November 16 at the age of 71. Professor Kinney joined the law school faculty in 1984 and in 1986 founded the school’s internationally recognized Center for Law and Health (later named the William S. and Christine S. Hall Center for Law and Health). One of the country’s leading experts in health law, Professor Kinney was a widely published author and respected lecturer on the subjects of America’s health care system, medical malpractice and health coverage for the poor.

“Eleanor Kinney was an outstanding colleague, a mentor to countless students, and a dear friend,” said IU McKinney Dean Andy Klein. “As founding director of the Hall Center for Law and Health, she was a leader on issues ranging from Medicare and Medicaid to health care as a human right. Under her guidance the Center flourished and gained prominence. Her work made a positive difference in many, many lives. Just as important, though, was Eleanor the person – a kind soul with a warm sense of humor who lived life to the fullest. She will be greatly missed by the entire McKinney Law family.”

Professor Kinney served as a consultant to the Administrative Conference of the United States, President Clinton’s Task Force for Health Care Reform, and the Indiana Commission on Health Care for the Working Poor. She was appointed by the governor of Indiana to the Executive Board of the Indiana State Department of Health and to other task forces and advisory boards. She also served as chair of the Patient Safety Subcommittee of the Indiana Commission on Excellence in Health Care.

During 1999-2000, Professor Kinney taught and conducted research as a Fulbright Fellow at the National University of La Plata in La Plata, Argentina. She founded the school's Latin American Law Summer Program and served as its executive director until 2007. She also served as an adjunct professor at the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs and at the IU School of Medicine.

Under her leadership, the Hall Center for Law and Health conducted research on such topics as Medicare appeals, Medicaid rule-making, and bioethical issues in the treatment of AIDS patients. During her tenure, the curriculum expanded to include joint degrees in law and health administration, law and medicine, and law and law and public health. She also brought in research funding from such entities as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the AARP Andrus Foundation to explore such issues as Medicare home health benefits and Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act, among others.

“Eleanor was a friend and mentor to so many in health law,” said current Hall Center Executive Director, Professor Nicolas Terry. “She was a great scholar and a force of nature.”

Professor Kinney authored or co-authored numerous law review articles, book chapters and book reviews. She also published Protecting American Health Care Consumers (Duke University Press 2002) and edited the Guide to Medicare Coverage Decision-Making and Appeals (ABA Publishing 2002).

Professor Kinney earned her B.A. and J.D. from Duke University, an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and an M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina. After graduating from law school, she practiced law for four years, then worked as an estate planning officer for Duke University Medical Center for two years. After earning her master’s degree in public health, she served as program analyst for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. Immediately prior to joining the IU McKinney faculty, she was assistant general counsel of the American Hospital Association.

A celebration of Professor Kinney's life will take place at IU McKinney in 2019.