Banks, Devins, Meese, and Zick Among Recipients of W&M Plumeri Awards
Four members of the Law School faculty - Angela M. Banks, Neal E. Devins, Alan Meese and Timothy Zick - are among 20 professors from the College of William & Mary selected to receive Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence.
The award, established with a generous gift from Joseph J. Plumeri II '66, D.P.S. '11, recognizes 20 faculty members each year for exemplary achievements in teaching, research and service. All recipients receive $10,000, which is used for research, summer salaries or other stipends associated with scholarly endeavors.
"The very nature of a William & Mary education means that these awards have directly and indirectly touched our students," said Provost Michael R. Halleran. "Our students are frequently involved in research and projects undertaken with Plumeri Award support, and these awards also deepen student learning through the faculty's enhanced scholarship."
"The Plumeri Awards have provided critical resources to help bridge the gap between our faculty's professional goals and the university's financial constraints," Halleran said. "Mr. Plumeri's generosity, leadership and passion for excellence continue to make a significant difference for William & Mary's faculty and students."
Brief biographies of the 2013 Plumeri Award recipients from the law faculty appear below.
Angela M. Banks
Associate Professor of Law
Engaging some of the most controversial issues in American immigration law and international human rights law, Professor Banks teaches courses in contracts, gender and human rights, and immigration and citizenship. She has written more than 10 full-length articles in the past five years, which have been featured or are forthcoming in journals such as the Emory Law Journal, William & Mary Law Review, Lewis & Clark Law Review, St. John’s Law Review, and University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law. Banks also recently contributed a chapter to The Resegregation of Schools: Race and Education in the Twenty-First Century. In all of her scholarship, Banks brings a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of law, sociology, geopolitics and culture. Scholars who have reviewed Banks’ work are as enthusiastic about her previous accomplishments as they are excited about her future productivity. Her students are equally inspired, giving Banks high scores on teaching effectiveness and identifying her accessibility in and outside of the classroom among her strengths as a teacher. Banks graduated from Harvard Law School, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review and the Harvard International Law Journal. Banks also graduated from Spelman College and the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Marshall Scholar.
Neal E. Devins
Goodrich Professor of Law, Cabell Research Professor, Professor of Government, Director, Institute of Bill of Rights Law and Director, Election Law Program
A member of the William & Mary faculty since 1987, Professor Devins is one of the nation’s leading scholars on the intersection of the U.S. Supreme Court and politics. Devins regularly is invited to speak at conferences and symposia. He has authored or edited 10 books on constitutional law and published more than 100 articles, many in the nation’s top law reviews. Director of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law at William & Mary Law School, he also organizes the annual Supreme Court Preview, a signature event that routinely involves former solicitors general of the United States, as well as federal appeals court judges. Devins directs the Law School’s Dunn Civil Liberties Project. He currently teaches Constitutional Law, a Supreme Court seminar, and a workshop titled Law & Politics. This is Devins’ second Plumeri Award, having been an inaugural recipient in 2009. He also has fostered interdisciplinary work on campus, frequently organizing a “Law and Politics” series. Devins serves as faculty adviser to the William & Mary Bill of Rights Law Journal and holds a juris doctorate from Vanderbilt University.
Alan M. Meese
Ball Professor of Law
Professor Meese has taught Contracts, Antitrust, Torts, Constitutional Law, Economic Analysis of Law, and Corporations. Meese has authored more than 30 articles on antitrust law and other topics, several of which have appeared in leading law reviews. The New York Times, Washington Post, Business Week, USA Today, Associated Press, and other national publications have quoted him about antitrust or Supreme Court issues. He has been featured on National Public Radio’s On Point, MSNBC’s Hardball, and other national media outlets. Meese has authored or co-authored op-eds in the Huffington Post, National Review Online, the New York Post, the Washington Post, and several other news publications. He has served on the University Planning Steering Committee for four years. Meese is a past president and vice president of the Faculty Assembly and has chaired each of its other subcommittees. He recently completed serving two years as the faculty representative on the Board of Visitors. Meese also served as senior advisor to the Antitrust Modernization Commission. This is Meese’s second Plumeri Award, and he is also a recipient of the Law School’s Walter L. Williams, Jr. Memorial Teaching Award. He graduated first in his class from William & Mary in 1986 and earned his juris doctorate with honors from the University of Chicago. He clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia.
Timothy Zick
Robert and Elizabeth Scott Research Professor of Law
An expert on constitutional law, in particular the First Amendment, Professor Zick is a frequent commentator in local, national, and international media regarding First Amendment issues. His comments have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, Salon, and ABC News, among others. In January 2012, Zick was called to testify before a U.S. House subcommittee regarding the application of the First Amendment to Occupy Wall Street protests. His courses at William & Mary Law School include Constitutional Law, Constitutional Interpretation, and the First Amendment. Zick also serves on the Law School Appointments Committee and as a William & Mary Law Review faculty adviser. He has published a number of articles on freedom of speech and other issues in leading law reviews and currently is working on his second book, The Cosmopolitan First Amendment: Protecting Transborder Expressive and Religious Liberties. This is Zick’s second Plumeri Award; he also received one in 2011. He earned a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center, graduating summa cum laude and first in his class.
For the list of all 20 Plumeri Award recipients, click here.