Renovations to the iconic Clayton University Center (UC) at Packer Hall will create a dynamic environment for student life while preserving the building’s historic grandeur. Thank you to all the generous donors who are helping to make the Clayton UC a vibrant space for everyone in the Lehigh community.
Jim Duane ’73 ’04P ’06P ’06PG, a successful litigator and mediator, has strong Lehigh family roots and is a lifelong volunteer and supporter of his alma mater. With a recent generous gift, he and his wife, Michelle ’04P ’06P ’06PG, paid tribute to the Clayton UC, a building that has been a significant part of Duane’s Lehigh experience both before and after graduation. In recognition of their contribution, the Duanes’ names will appear on a plaque outside a meeting room on the Clayton UC’s first floor.
All in the Family
For Duane, attending Lehigh is very much a family thing. The New York City native from Queens followed in the footsteps of his late father, James Duane Jr. ’41. His brother Thomas ’77; two sons, James IV ’04 ’06G and David ’06; and daughter-in-law Yuna Jacobson ’04 are also alumni, as are some nieces and cousins. Even beyond his father’s influence, Duane says he was hooked from his very first visit.
“I just fell in love with the place,” Duane recalls. “Part of that was what Lehigh looked like — it was the archetypal college campus.”
It wasn’t the UC that Duane first noticed, though, but rather the Alumni Memorial Building, where he had his interview, and Taylor Stadium, where he saw a football game that day. “I also noticed there were students walking around on campus because back then they had Saturday classes. And for some reason, that didn’t discourage me — I don’t know why!” he laughs.
Fond UC Memories
When he got to Lehigh, Duane soon realized that the UC was an iconic building — and one that would play a big role in his student experience. “I ate almost all my meals there over four years. I got my mail there back in the days when mail was an important lifeline to the outside world, particularly when I was a freshman away from home for the first time, and then later when I had a girlfriend — who became my wife,” Duane recalls.
"My hope is that the UC will be as special to the students of tomorrow as it was to me."
Student life has always been important to Duane, and the UC was the center of it. “I was a Gryphon, and twice a week we had dinners there with about 50 of us. Our tradition was to play table shuffleboard in the UC basement game room after those dinners,” he says.
The UC has also figured prominently in Duane’s post-graduation Lehigh experience. As a member of the Alumni Association's executive board (1978-1983, 1991-1993, and 1996-2001) and as a member of the Lehigh Board of Trustees from 1998 to 2010 (now trustee emeritus), Duane has attended many meetings in the iconic building.
A Successful Career
After graduating from Lehigh in 1973 with a degree in American studies, Duane headed for England on a Lehigh scholarship, accompanied by his new bride, to earn a master’s degree in American studies at the University of Manchester. From there, it was Harvard Law School and clerking for a federal judge.
Duane began his more than four-decade career as a litigator at a Boston law firm before co-founding his own firm in 1984. He led there until 2013 when he joined his current firm, Peabody and Arnold.
For the past five years, Duane has been a full-time mediator and arbitrator, embracing his passion for helping others by doing a lot of pro bono work for two nonprofits that offer free mediation services. “I enjoy mediation and helping people put problems behind them,” he says.
Duane says his Lehigh education helped him grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally and gave him a strong foundation for the rest of his life. “Lehigh taught me to never be satisfied with what I know but to keep reaching for and learning about things I don't know. I also got a better idea about the importance of hard work and persistence in accomplishing things and in looking out for other people.”
A Revitalized Clayton UC for Future Generations
As important as the UC was when he was an undergraduate, Duane believes that after the renovations are completed, the Clayton UC will be even more of a center for student life with its meeting spaces, areas for collaboration and recreation, multiple dining options, and other features. “That’s why Michelle and I wanted to contribute in our way to making that renovated building a reality. My hope is that it will be as special to the students of tomorrow as it was to me.
“I volunteer and support Lehigh because I want others to have the same great experience I did and to help make Lehigh an even better university for future generations of students, faculty, administrators, and alumni.”
