Albert E. Utton was born in 1931 in Aztec, NM. He received his undergraduate degree from UNM in1953 in Geology and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study law at Oxford University. He received law degrees from the University of London and Yale University. Utton was a Barrister at Law of the Inner Temple of the English Bar and served with the Judge Advocate General in England before returning to New Mexico to join the UNM School of Law faculty in 1962, the first native born New Mexican hired by the Law School. He served a term as Interim Dean of the Law School. Immediately after arriving at UNMSOL he took over the fledgling Natural Resources Journal and guided it to national and international prominence. A recognized authority on water rights and natural resources law he authored many books on these subjects. Within the Law School he organized the International Transboundary Resources Center which was renamed the Utton Transboundary Resources Center after his death in 1998. He served on the NM Interstate Stream Commission for nearly 20 years, many as Chairman. In 1997, in recognition of his friendship, knowledge and work on cross-border natural resource issues, Mexico awarded him the Aguila Azteca Award, its highest honor for non-citizens. He died in Albuquerque in October 1998.
From the guide to the Albert E. Utton Papers, 1877-2009, 1960-1998, (University of New Mexico School of Law Library)
