Charles LeRoy Whistler

Charles LeRoy Whistler was born in Green Hill, Warren County, Indiana, on November 26, 1925. He grew up in Boswell, Benton County, Indiana, where he graduated from Boswell High School (1944.) After high school, Whistler spent two years in the Army Air Corps before matriculating at Indiana University. He majored in Government and received his A.B. degree, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1948. He then enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law. While in law school, he served as the Articles and Book Review Editor of the Indiana Law Journal (v. 26) and held Order of Coif membership. He received his LL.B., with high distinctions, in 1951. Upon graduation from law school, Whistler joined the law firm of Baker and Daniels in Indianapolis, concentrating on labor law issues. He soon, however, developed an interest in the law and administration of land planning and use. Recognizing that the city of Indianapolis lacked serious plans for future metropolitan development, he went to work with a like-minded group of lawyers drafting the legislation that would one day be known as the “Unigov Plan.” The plan consolidated the city government with that of Marion County, and has been credited as being a key factor in the growth of the city in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Whistler served the city in numerous professional and volunteer positions, including as President of the Metropolitan Development Commission of Greater Indianapolis (1968-1972) and as Co-Chairman of both the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee and the Regional Central Planning Committee. He additionally chaired the White River Park Citizens Advisory Committee and the Urban Growth and Revitalization Task Force. Whistler also served as a member of the House of Delegates of the Indiana Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Chalres LeRoy Whistler died in 1981, at the age of 55. In 1982, the Baker and Daniels firm established the law school’s Charles L. Whistler Faculty Fellowship in his honor. In 1983, the City of Indianapolis created the Charles L. Whistler award, to recognize those who demonstrate visionary and enthusiastic leadership in serving the community, while providing outstanding service in bringing together the public and private sectors for civic improvement. Whistler was inducted, into the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 1989.https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/notablealumni/1104/thumbnail.jp