Inaugural John E. Donaldson Award Honors Outstanding Tax Students
John E. Donaldson Award John E. Donaldson, Ball Professor Emeritus, and William M. Richardson, professor of the practice of law, present the inaugural Donaldson Tax Award, which goes to the most outstanding tax student or students. Photo by David F. Morrill
John E. Donaldson Award John Donaldson presents the inaugural John E. Donaldson Award to Kandyce L. Korotky. Photo by David F. Morrill
Law school can be taxing, especially courses on tax law, but if you are the most outstanding tax student at William & Mary Law School, you might receive a new honor—the John E. Donaldson Award.
Supported by alumni and friends who wished to honor John E. Donaldson, William & Mary’s Ball Professor of Law Emeritus, the award was unveiled at the Law School’s annual Awards Ceremony on Saturday, May 11, at the Kimball Theater in Williamsburg. The recipients of the inaugural Donaldson Award were Kandyce L. Korotky and Kelsey N. Kremer.
A member of the Law School's class of 1963, Donaldson joined the faculty in 1966 and taught tax law, trusts, and estates. Dedicated to teaching and service, he went on to receive numerous awards, including the Thomas A. Graves Teaching Award (1988), the Walter L. Williams, Jr. Teaching Award (1993), the Law School Association’s Citizen-Lawyer Award (1997), and the Thomas Jefferson Award (2001).
“Over his 35 years teaching here, he won virtually every award that could be given to a faculty member, not only of the law school but of the College,” said William M. Richardson, Professor of the Practice of Law. “Not only that, he held many administrative positions at the law school and at the College. He also was a giant at the bar and in the community.”
To be nominated for the John E. Donaldson Award, a student must have excelled in at least three tax courses. Richardson said that because of a strong class, there were two recipients for the Class of 2013, and he called Donaldson to the podium to help present the awards.
“The real reason this award was named for [Donaldson] is because of the effect he had on his students,” Richardson said in closing. “Over the years, without exception, they all admire him greatly; indeed, I’d say they love him. He achieved what every teacher would like to achieve in terms of impact on students.”