Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock »
Robert Downs
Professor
School of Law
Downs is all about the law—he served in the U.S. Army Adjutant General’s Corps, practiced at a law firm and now teaches law at UMKC. He’s made his mark in the courtroom, too. Downs adorned the entrance of the E. E. (Tom) Thompson Courtroom at the UMKC School of Law with one of his 11 handcrafted grandfather clocks. A self-taught clock maker, he salvaged the oak wood from the old courtroom, built the clock and dedicated it to friend and colleague, Professor Ed Hood. “I have always liked working with wood or having some kind of home renovation project going on,” Downs says. “My goal is to die owning every wood-working tool known to man. I enjoy turning raw lumber into something beautiful and valuable that folks will want to keep forever.”