Professor Stacy Kern-Scheerer Awarded Kelly Professorship for Excellence in Teaching
Professor Stacy Kern-Scheerer has been awarded the Kelly Professorship for Excellence in Teaching for a two-year term beginning in fall 2018. The professorship is named in honor of the late Herbert V. Kelly, Sr., B.A. '41, B.C.L. '43, who was the senior partner at Jones, Blechman, Woltz & Kelly in Newport News, Va., until his death in 2007. His generous gift of more than $500,000 enabled the creation of a term professorship at the Law School to recognize and reward excellence in teaching.
Kern-Scheerer teaches Legal Writing and courses in health care law, including Health Law & Policy and Food & Drug Law. She will co-teach a new course this fall that explores the opioid crisis in the U.S. from health law and criminal law perspectives.
"Stacy is a marvelous teacher and brings tremendous enthusiasm to the classroom," said Law School Dean Davison M. Douglas. "She has the ability to communicate to her students the importance of what they are studying and also her sincere interest in their success. She is a wonderful choice for the Kelly teaching chair!"
Prior to joining the William & Mary faculty in 2013, where she is a Professor of the Practice of Law, Kern-Scheerer served as Assistant Counsel in the U.S. Senate Office of the Legislative Counsel. Her chief duties in this nonpartisan role included drafting legislation for senators and Senate committees on various issues of Federal health policy. This included drafting provisions of several enacted laws, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the FDA Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA).
She holds two degrees from Boston University, a Master of Public Health and a J.D. (magna cum laude). During her graduate studies there, she was Executive Editor of the American Journal of Law and Medicine, which is published by the law school in conjunction with the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics. She received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Beloit College, where she majored in sociology and French and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
The Class of 2017 previously honored Kern-Scheerer for her excellence as a teacher by conferring on her the Walter L. Williams, Jr., Memorial Teaching Award. The Honor Council also recognized her in 2017 with a "Golden Gavel" for her contributions to the Law School community.
About Herbert V. Kelly, Sr., B.A. '41, B.C.L. '43
Kelly received his undergraduate degree from William & Mary in 1941, and graduated from the Law School two years later. He began his law career after serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II, and was a partner, and later managing partner and senior partner, at Jones, Blechman, Woltz & Kelly in Newport News, Va.
Actively involved in area affairs, he received numerous awards for community service, including the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Citizen Award, the Peninsula Boy Scout’s Silver Beaver Award, and Hampton Institute’s Presidential Service Award. Kelly was a member of the College’s Board of Visitors from 1976 to 1984 and served as College Rector for two of those years. From 1990 to 1999 he was a trustee of the Law School Foundation. In recognition of his numerous contributions to William & Mary, he received the Alumni Medallion in 1987 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1993. In 1995, the Law School Association presented Kelly with its Citizen-Lawyer Award, the highest honor it confers, in recognition of his outstanding citizenship and leadership.
About William & Mary Law School
Thomas Jefferson founded William & Mary Law School in 1779 to train leaders for the new nation. Now in its third century, America's oldest law school continues its historic mission of educating citizen lawyers who are prepared both to lead and to serve.