Dean G. Beier, 1939
B.A., Denison University
J.D., University of Michigan
Citation awarded June, 1995
Dean has had an exemplary career in the law and community service. After his graduation from Denison, Dean enrolled in the University of Michigan Law School, where he earned the LL.B. in 1942. He served in the U.S. Army in the Southwest Pacific during World War II, returning after the war to the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan law firm of Beier Howlett, P.C. He is now Senior Partner in that firm.
An expert in the intricacies and legalities of municipal zoning, Dean designed and implemented the first Planned Urban Development (PUD) project in Michigan. He was selected in 1986 as Distinguished Municipal Attorney of the Year by the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys.
Dean has also been a leader in his community, having served as Mayor of Birmingham, Michigan. For many years he has served as a member of the Board of Crittenden Hospital and as Chairman of the Board of Oakland Housing Inc., a charitable foundation providing homes to low-income families. He has also been actively involved in leadership positions with a number of community organizations, including the Boys Club, the YMCA, and the Masons.
He and his wife Mary have two sons and a daughter who is a Denison alumna, Kathy Beier Biggs ’69.
