Richard B. Stephens Eminent Scholar Chair in Federal Taxation

Richard B. Stephens

Alumni and friends of Richard B. Stephens – law professor and co-founder and first director of the Graduate Tax Program at the University of Florida Levin College of Law – established this Eminent Scholar Chair in Federal Taxation in his memory.

Stephens graduated from law school at the University of Michigan in 1942 and began his legal career with the prominent law firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. It was there that he realized his passion for federal tax law, a passion that led him to the University of Florida law school, where he taught from 1949 until his retirement in 1977. He helped build the Graduate Tax Program into one of the top-ranked tax law programs in the country.

A prolific author, he coauthored Fundamentals of Federal Income Taxation, a respected and often used textbook at American law schools. He also coauthored two leading treatises on federal taxation, Federal Estate and Gift Taxation and Income Taxation of Estates and Beneficiaries.

Over the years, Stephens was recognized for his outstanding leadership as a teacher, researcher and administrator. He was the first member of the law faculty to receive the Florida Blue Key Distinguished Faculty award and the first to be named Outstanding Professor by UF law students. In 1985, Stephens was selected as “Tax Lawyer of the Year” by the Tax Section of The Florida Bar. His outstanding contribution to tax scholarship and education were considered instrumental to the tax program’s growth and reputation. The law school’s Tax Research Center, a study facility that expedites tax research by centralizing the legal information center’s tax holdings, was named in his honor in 1986.

Professor Stephens passed away in 1988 at age 71.