UNCP Professor David J. Vanderhoof dies at 61

By Brittany Andrews
Staff Writer

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at UNCP, David J.W. Vanderhoof, 61, a resident of Laurinburg, N.C., died in his sleep Feb. 9.

According to Lynn McDougald of McDougald Funeral Home in Laurinburg, preliminary results from the coroner’s office indicated that Vanderhoof died of a massive heart attack.

Vanderhoof completed his undergraduate work at Utah State University and received a law degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1968. He returned to Temple University School of Law in 1988 to teach. At Temple, Vanderhoof received his Master of Laws (L.L.D.) degree and taught business and law there prior to joining the UNCP faculty in 1995.

Vanderhoof had a 20-year career in law as a prosecutor and defense counsel, and he practiced both criminal and civil law. He specialized in federal cases that involved a wide variety of issues from free speech to the death penalty. He received awards and commendations from five U.S. Attorneys General.

Vanderhoof was a fun-loving and caring man, said Dr. Thomas Leach, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

“Professor Vanderhoof brought a unique quality of ‘sharing my dream of America,’ as he put it, to the classroom,” Dean Leach said. “He loved to have fun and was serious about the pursuit of lifelong learning, which he viewed as the real basis of happiness.”

The department has lost a valued colleague, said Dr. Sherry Edwards, interim chair of the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice.

“He actively spearheaded efforts to improve the criminal justice curriculum, and has also been involved in the North Carolina Mock Trial Programs at high schools around the state. The department and his students will deeply miss David,” Edwards said.

Vanderhoof engaged in research considering a Literature Enhanced Social Work Curriculum, worked as a volunteer with a supervised independent living program for teens, persons living with AIDS, inner-city homeless, was an at-risk tutor.

At UNCP, Vanderhoof was an advocate for and early adapter to new technologies. He integrated his University Web site into courses as a reference library, and he utilized video streaming technology to lecture online, sometimes to students at universities as far away as California.

Vanderhoof is survived by his wife, Mary Sandra Taylor; two adult daughters, Cherie Petersen of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Shawna Butler of Auckland, New Zealand; five brothers; one sister and five grandchildren.

Visitation for Vanderhoof was held Feb. 13 at Saint Luke United Methodist Church in Laurinburg. The on-campus memorial service was held at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Water Feature and Amphitheater.

In lieu of flowers, the Vanderhoof family has asked that contributions be made to the David J. Vanderhoof Scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded to a UNCP criminal justice major.