Law School Teaching Awards
Dr.
Seth Kreimer, associate dean of the Law
School bestowed
teaching awards for 2003-2004 to four members of the
Law School faculty.
Dr. Gideon
Parchomovsky, assistant professor of law,
has been named this year's winner of the A. Leo Levin
Award for Excellence in an Introductory Course for
his class on Property.
Dr.
Parchomovsky, who specializes in intellectual property,
property law, and cyber law, joined the Penn Law faculty
in 2002. He holds a J.S.D. from Yale, an LL.M.
from Berkeley, and an LL.B. from Hebrew University
in Jerusalem. His knowledge and enthusiasm for the
subject is certainly reflected in the sample quotes
from his students, "Professor Parchomovsky is by far
the best professor I've had in law school in terms
of stimulating interest. He breathes life into the
dullest of topics and makes even very difficult material
palatable and interesting. He is without question an
extraordinarily gifted teacher." His "love for the
topic, of teaching, and of his students made it one
of the most enjoyable classes of the semester. Cases
that seemed dry the night before seemed to leap off
the page in the professor's hands. A truly phenomenal
professor." The A. Leo Levin Award is determined by
the associate dean on the basis of teaching evaluations.
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Dr.
Sarah Barringer Gordon, professor of law and
history, has been named the recipient of this year's
Robert A. Gorman Award for Excellence in Teaching
for her course "Church and State Blasphemy." Dr.
Gordon is a widely recognized scholar on the historical
role of religion in American political life and the
separation of church and state. She is the author
of The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional
Conflict in Nineteenth Century America (2002)
which won the Mormon History Association's Best Book
Award in 2003. She earned her J.D. degree from Yale
and a Ph.D. in History from Princeton. Student comments
capture her achievements in the classroom. "The best
teacher I have had (perhaps ever). Penn could not
do better as far as presenting their professors to
prospective students than have them talk to Professor
Gordon or sit in on one of her classes. Intellectually
rigorous, stimulating, and lots of fun." "This was
my favorite class in all of law school. I wish that
it could have lasted longer or that I had taken other
courses with Professor Gordon. The material and content
was fascinating, but what made the class really special
was the atmosphere, the warmth. Lots of law school
classes are interesting, but this one really touched
me and meant something to me. And, it was all because
of the wonderful atmosphere that Professor Gordon
created." "Professor Gordon teaches the law in three
dimensions, always questioning, always turning a
case over in her hands and encouraging us to do the
same."
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Dr.
William Tyson, who holds a joint appointment
with the Law School and a primary appointment at
Wharton, has been named the winner of the Adjunct
Teaching Award for his courses, "Federal Income
Taxation" and "Securities
Regulation." Tyson earned his J.D. degree from
Harvard. "Fantastic
Professor! I wish he taught another class (I already
took tax). Makes everyone think hard and analyze
each possible permutation of the statutes and rules." "He's
terrific. A natural teacher. Penn is lucky to have
him. How he made each class fly by is beyond me--Sec.
Reg. can be pretty tedious. Tyson calls on students
all the time, such that I was prone to regularly
make a fool of myself even though I am a 3L. I went
to class anyway. It was worth it."
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Penn
Law students have awarded Dr. David Rudovsky,
senior fellow, the Harvey Levin Award for Teaching
Excellence. Dr. Rudovsky, one of the nation's leading
civil rights lawyers and criminal defense attorneys,
teaches in the areas of criminal procedure, evidence,
public interest and civil rights law. Known for his
dynamic method of teaching, he brings real-world experience
and insight into the classroom. Students have commented, "Professor
Rudovsky was great in challenging us to think independently
towards understanding complex problems and applying
rules of evidence effectively." "Excellent
... because Professor Rudovsky is a practicing attorney,
he added
great depth and practical knowledge to the material." And
finally, "Rudovsky is amazing. I wish he
taught more classes because I've already taken two
with him."