Prof. Tobin Named Bazler Designated Professor in Law

Created in 2008, the professorship is named after Frank E. Bazler '53 and his wife, Virginia

November, 2009

By Rob Phillips

Professor Donald B. Tobin, the College’s associate dean for faculty, was recently named the Frank E. and Virginia H. Bazler Designated Professor in Business Law.

Tobin joined the Moritz College of Law in 2001 and specializes in tax law. He is a co-author on a leading treatise on federal income taxation and regularly teaches a course on the subject at Moritz.

He has been active in promoting business law at Moritz. He was the original faculty advisor to the business law students and has been an advisor to the business law moot court team.

From 1997-01, Tobin was an attorney on the appellate staff of the tax division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Prior to his service in the Justice Department, he clerked for the Honorable Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and was a staff member with the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, and for U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes.

Tobin’s most recent research has focused on the roles of nonprofit and taxable entities that wish to participate in political campaigns.

He also recently co-authored a textbook dealing with ethical issues in tax practice.

Tobin is a senior fellow with Moritz’s Election Law @ Moritz program, and he has also served as associate dean for academic affairs at the College.

The professorship, created in 2008, is named after Frank Bazler, a 1951 Ohio State College of Commerce graduate and 1953 College of Law alumnus, and his wife, Virginia. The Bazlers made an identical donation to Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Virginia received her bachelor’s degree from the School of Home Economics in the College of Agriculture.