Faculty: June ENews

Three law faculty - Nancy Combs, Neal Devins, and Davison Douglas - were among 20 College faculty chosen to receive inaugural Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence.  Dean Lynda Butler said that the awards are given "to faculty who have distinguished themselves both as excellent teachers and as outstanding scholars. Having three of the 20 be law professors is an amazing feat." The awards are made possible by a $2 million commitment made in 2008 by  Joseph J. Plumeri, a 1966 graduate of the College of Willliam & Mary. 

Professor Combs was also promoted to full professor with tenure and is the 2009-10 Cabell Research Professor of Law. She joined the William & Mary faculty in 2004, and her scholarship focuses on international law and international criminal justice. Her latest book, titled Fact-Finding Without Facts: The Uncertain Evidentiary Foundations of International Criminal Convictions is forthcoming from Cambridge University Press. Click here for more about the book.

Professor Laura A. Heymann was promoted to associate professor. She was the 2008 recipient of the Walter L. Williams, Jr., Teaching Award and has been a member of the faculty since 2005. Earlier in her career, she served as assistant general counsel for America Online, Inc., and as an associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, DC. She writes and teaches in the areas of copyright law and trademark law.

James Goold Cutler Professor Jayne Barnard has added another honor to her title, that of the Herbert V. Kelly, Sr., Professor of Teaching Excellence. The professorship was made possible by a gift of $500,00 from the late Herbert V. Kelly, Sr., and is held for a two-year term by a member of the Law School faculty. Haynes Professor Paul Marcus was the first to hold the chair. Kelly received his undergraduate and law degrees from William & Mary and was the senior partner at Jones, Blechman, Woltz & Kelly in Newport News, Va., until his death in 2007.