AUWCL Professors Recognized for Teaching, Service
Oct. 22, 2019
American University Washington College of Law honored four outstanding professors Tuesday, Oct. 22 as winners of the annual AUWCL Teaching and Service Awards. Recipients were recognized for their innovative teaching and service both in and outside of the classroom.
Excellence in Teaching Award: Professor Heather Hughes
The Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes outstanding teaching, reflected by thoughtful pedagogy, commitment to student mentoring and advising, institutional leadership focused on improving the variety, quality, and rigor of teaching at the Washington College of Law.
Professor Heather Hughes, director of the Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) Program, teaches in the areas of commercial law and property. Her research focuses on the Uniform Commercial Code, property, private law theory, and financial transactions.
Over the past two summers, Hughes has prepared the Business Associations course, which invited students to do a mock junior attorney assignment and develop skills necessary to administer a commercial transaction. She is working to convert this course to an online JD offering, and has developed an additional Business Associations course for the online Master of Legal Studies Program. Hughes frequently advises students working on independent study credits, and serves on the advisory committee for the Business Law Review.
Innovation in Pedagogy Award: Professor Binny Miller
The Innovation in Pedagogy Award recognizes exceptional creativity and innovation in instruction, including but not limited to, the use of technology.
Professor Binny Miller is the co-director of the Criminal Justice Clinic (CJC). Her areas of expertise include criminal and juvenile justice, clinical legal education and voting rights.
Miller’s teaching merges clinical pedagogy with other forms of instruction. For the past three years, Miller’s incorporation of cases involving juveniles sentenced to life in prison without parole has allowed CJC students to represent these clients before the Maryland courts and the Maryland Parole Commission. She went on to create the directed research seminar course, Juvenile Life Without Parole, allowing clinic and non-clinic students alike to participate in this important work and at the same time complete the Upper Level Writing Requirement.
For her advocacy work in collaboration with clinics at other law schools, Miller is the co-recipient of three awards: the Maryland State Bar Association’s 2018 Herbert S. Garten Special Project Award; the Excellence in a Clinical Project award from the Clinical Legal Association; and the Alan J. Davis Award, given by the law firm Ballard Spahr for exemplary legal representation in a matter involving public good.
Adjunct Teaching Award: Professor Edward Correia
The Adjunct Teaching Award recognizes outstanding teaching, thoughtful pedagogy, committed student mentoring, or exceptional creativity and innovation in instruction by a member of the adjunct faculty.
Lead partner at Correia & Osolinik in Washington, D.C., Professor Edward Correia has served as an AUWCL adjunct for the last 13 years, teaching courses on antitrust law, the First Amendment, legislation, and his current teaching focus—evidence. One of the most challenging courses to teach, Correia routinely receives outstanding reviews from his evidence students regarding his effective teaching style.
Before starting his own firm, Correia practiced at Latham and Watkins, LLP, for almost 10 years. Prior, Correia served as Special Counsel to the President for Civil Rights in the White House during the Clinton Administration, advising the president on civil rights and constitutional issues and coordinating the implementation of the administration’s civil rights policies, including those on affirmative action. He was appointed by President Clinton to the National Council on Disability.
Outstanding Service Award: Susan Bennett
The Outstanding Service Award recognizes a faculty member’s outstanding service either outside or within the law school or university.
Professor Susan Bennett’s areas of specialization include poverty law, social entrepreneurship, public interest, housing law, community development law, and clinical legal education. She is the founder and director of the Community & Economic Development Law Clinic, and previously served as director of the Clinical Program.
Bennett served as the chair of AUWCL’s Rank & Tenure Committee from August 2017 through August 2019, leading the process of revising the faculty manual. She serves on and has previously chaired the Public Interest Committee, and has participated in the Awards Committee for the EJF Summer Stipends and on various committees relating to the Public Interest/Public Services Scholarship (PIPS) Program. Bennett also serves as faculty advisor for the Office of Public Interest. She also has many years of involvement with academic and legal services within the Washington, D.C., area. She is currently a member of the Advisory Board for the D.C. Interpreter Bank, and of the founding board of directors for the D.C. Reduced Fee Lawyer and Mediator Referral Service, and has previously served as a member of the D.C. Bar’s Pro Bono Committee and as the chair of the Advisory Committee of the Non Profits and Small Businesses Project of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center.