University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law

The urban public law school with a small liberal arts feel

John W. Ragsdale, Jr. William Borland Professor of Law; B.A. (Middlebury College); J.D. (University of Colorado- Boulder); LL.M. (UMKC); S.J.D. (Northwestern University) email 816-235-2376 Vita Class Links Professor Ragsdale received his B.A. from Middlebury College in 1966, his J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School in 1969 and his LL.M. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1972. He also received his S.J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. Among other honors, he received the American Jurisprudence Award for the highest grade in Constitutional Law, Torts, and Contracts, and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He received a Gage Fellowship at UMKC for 1971-72, a Nelson Fellowship at Northwestern for 1978-79 and was graduate editor of The Urban Lawyer. After graduating from law school. Professor Ragsdale worked as a law clerk to Judge Phillips of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. In 1971, he became an associate in the firm of Hemphrey and Woods in Denver, Colorado. He joined the UMKC Law School faculty in 1972 and was a visiting professor at California Western Law School in San Diego, California, during the 1979-80 academic year. Professor Ragsdale teaches American Indian Law, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Environmental Law, Jurisprudence, Land Use, Municipal Government, Preservation Law and Natural Resources Law.