Edward Bruce McLean died peacefully in his home on Sept. 12, 2011. He was born in Chicago, Ill., on May 13, 1929, to Alexander MacDonald McLean and Ruth Alma (Garrison) McLean. He graduated from Columbus High School in 1947. He served in the United States Army between 1951 and 1953, attaining the rank of Sergeant Major. He received a Ph.D in political science from Indiana University in 1963. He taught at the University of Florida and Florida Presbyterian (now Eckerd) College before accepting an appointment as an Associate Professor of Political Science at Wabash College in 1968, where he taught until his retirement in June, 2003. He was promoted to full professor at Wabash in 1971, and served as Chairman of the Department of Political Science until 1980. He received the McClain McTurnan Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1975, and in 1981 he was awarded the Eugene N. and Marian C. Beesley Chair in Political Science. While at Wabash he wrote two books, edited four others, and published a number of articles dealing with political and legal theory.

He began the study of law at night at Indiana University in Indianapolis in 1970, receiving his J.D. cum laude in 1975. Following his admission to the bar, McLean served as a part-time deputy prosecutor in Montgomery County for 19 years. He was made a Sagamore of the Wabash in 1980; an Honorary Secretary of State of Indiana in 1982, and was Co-Chairman of Scholars for Reagan during President Reagan's first campaign. He served on the Indiana Civil Rights Commission for two years. In 2003 he was awarded the David W. Peck Medal by Wabash College for eminence in the law. In 2008, he was made an honorary alumnus of Wabash College, class of 2003.

McLean met Pierre Goodrich in 1979, when Goodrich asked him to research the legal theory of Roscoe Pound. This research resulted in Law and Civilization: The Legal Thought of Roscoe Pound (University Press of America,1992). In 1987, McLean was elected to the board of directors of Liberty Fund, a private, educational foundation established by Mr. Goodrich to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. McLean served on the Board of Directors until his death. McLean was an active member of St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Crawfordsville.

He was preceded in death by his brothers Robert and Donald, and his sister, Glenna Brenneisen. He is survived by his wife, Maria McLean, who he married in 1960, their son, Ian (Sharon) McLean and a granddaughter (Hannah). He is also survived by five nieces and nephews; Libby (McLean) Belser, Andrew McLean, Judith (Brenneisen, Guenther) Adams, Jan Brenneisen, Colin McLean, and eleven grand-nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at St. Bernard's Catholic Church on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011. There will be a calling at the Church from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with Mass at 11 a.m. followed by a graveside service at Calvary Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Edward B. McLean Fund at Wabash College or St. Bernard's Catholic Church, 1306 E. Main St., Crawfordsville, IN 47933.