Dennis Blumer

Dennis H. Blumer, originally of Dayton, Ohio, died in Falls Church, Virginia on June 18 of congestive heart failure at the age of 84. He leaves behind a loving family consisting of his wife of 60 years, Alice “Tansy” Howard Blumer, and two daughters, Mackenzie Yates and Paige Blumer.

In his youth, Dennis spent much of his time pursuing the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts, running his paper route, and, as he got older, pursuing higher education. He was awarded a scholarship to Yale University by the Mead Corporation to pursue his undergraduate degree which he completed in 1962 before deciding to stay at Yale to earn his law degree. After meeting Tansy at a Smith College mixer while she was completing her B.A., Dennis knew that he had met his match. The two married in 1965 and Dennis landed his first job at Central State University where he served as Assistant to the Acting President.

Dennis’ time at Yale was pivotal in setting the course of his career. He found his passion in institutions of higher learning, and spent the rest of his career using his law degree to support the missions of those institutions, advocating for them in a vast array of legal matters, innovating new ways for them to thrive and building frameworks to help them better serve their students and communities. He never lost sight of how Yale changed the course of his life and dedicated himself to the mission and purpose of higher learning.

In 1966, Dennis left Ohio to serve first as Assistant to the President at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and then in 1971 to the University of Maryland where his initial title was Assistant to the Chancellor. In both of these roles, Dennis often served as a negotiator between the institution and student protestors who were seeking support from the school during a period of antiwar violence and unrest. At the University of Maryland, Dennis also had the opportunity to set up and lead the first dedicated legal office on the College Park campus. He was especially proud of his work in this time developing improved strategies for clarifying and handling NCAA violations, benefitting the student athletes of the institution he served. Dennis ended his career in higher education as Vice President and General Counsel of the George Washington University where he led GWU’s first Office of the General Counsel, before moving to private practice to lead the Higher Education Group at ArentFox Schiff. Dennis gave his time on the boards of both Beauvoir School in Washington, D.C. and Century Bank.

Dennis is remembered by his former colleagues for his quick thinking, his generous nature, and his ready mentorship. These qualities found their way into all aspects of his life and he will long be remembered by those who loved him as always willing to give of his time and talents to help another and for his uncanny ability to find a way forward in the thorniest of situations.

In addition to his immediate family, Dennis is survived by his sister Barbara Stockstill of Roanoke, Virginia.