SALT is proud to announce the inaugural recipient of the Junior Faculty Teaching Award, Assistant Professor Kwoka. The award recognizes an outstanding recent entrant into legal education who demonstrates a commitment to justice, equality and academic excellence through teaching. Designed to honor an emerging teacher and support an outstanding individual new to the legal academy, the award will be presented annually at the SALT Teaching Conference or SALT-LatCrit Junior Faculty Development Workshop.
Professor Margaret Kwoka, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Professor Kwoka is a graduate of Brown University and Northeastern University School of Law and a former education volunteer with Peace Corps in Burkina Faso. She clerked for Chief Justice Phillip Rapoza, Massachusetts Appeals Court, and Judge Michael Murphy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Denver, Professor Kwoka was an Assistant Professor at John Marshall Law School in Chicago and a Lecturer at George Washington University School of Law. She also practiced as an attorney at Public Citizen Litigation Group, a public interest law firm in Washington, D.C., where she focused on government transparency litigation in federal court.
Professor Kwoka’s research and teaching interests center on civil procedure and procedural justice, administrative law and judicial review of agency actions, federal court litigation, and government transparency. Her articles have appeared in the Boston College Law Review, the American University Law Review, the Harvard Journal on Legislation, and the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal, among others.
ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION CRITERIA
To be considered for the Junior Faculty Teaching Award, a candidate must be:
• A current SALT member.
• A full-time faculty member with no more than seven years of law school teaching at the time of nomination.
• Involved in teaching and advising students at the time of the nomination.
The Junior Faculty Teaching Award is designed to honor a teacher who demonstrates excellence in teaching through some or all of the following:
• Commitment to the mission of SALT.
• Incorporation of social justice themes in the classroom and/or scholarship.
• Innovative curricular design to teach about diversity and access to justice.
• Service to underserved and marginalized populations.
• Mentorship to others in social justice pedagogy.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Only members of SALT may nominate individuals for the Award. Self-nominations are
permitted. Nomination materials must include:
• Nominee’s curriculum vitae.
• Letter of Nomination or Self-nomination.
• In the event of self-nomination, two additional letters of support.
AWARD PRESENTATION
The recipient of the 2014 SALT Junior Faculty Teaching Award will be honored at the upcoming SALT/LatCrit Junior Faculty Development Workshop, to be held Oct. 9, 2014 at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada. The recipient will also be recognized in the SALT Teaching Conference Program. The Award also covers the conference registration fee.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
The SALT Junior Faculty Teaching Award Selection Committee consisted of a variety of professors from different disciplines and experience levels. The 2014 Committee included: Professors SpearIt, Thurgood Marshall School of Law; Steve Friedland, Elon University; Ernesto Hernandez, Chapman; Camille Lamar, Nova Southeastern University; Nariessa Smith, North Carolina Central University.
For more information about the SALT Junior Faculty Teaching Award, please contact the Chair of the SALT Junior Faculty Teaching Award Selection Committee, Professor SpearIt at spearit@tmslaw.tsu.edu.