3L and 1L Classes Recognize Professor Gershowitz and Professor Combs as Outstanding Teachers
Awards Professor Nancy Combs and Professor Adam Gershowitz were honored with teaching awards during Commencement week. Photos by David Morrill
On May 19, during a barbecue lunch on the front lawn celebrating Class of 2022 graduates, outgoing Student Bar Association (SBA) President Max Chu ‘22 and outgoing SBA Vice President Emilee Houghton ’22 presented awards for outstanding teaching to Professor Adam Gershowitz and Professor Nancy Combs.
Williams Memorial Teaching Award – Professor Adam Gershowitz
Chu presented the Class of 2022 Williams Memorial Teaching Award to Gershowitz, who is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and R. Hugh and Nolie Haynes Professor of Law. The award honors the memory of Walter L. Williams, Jr., a member of the Law School faculty from 1972 to 1991. Chu said the award goes to “a professor who is loved and admired” by the graduating class. Gershowitz, he said, “has been a champion for our class ever since he arrived.” In a wry observation about Gershowitz’s down-to-earth personality and sense of humor, Chu said that “if you've ever seen a new show on Netflix and thought to yourself, ‘hmm, who could they possibly have made that for?’ chances are, it's probably this professor's favorite show.”
With the addition of the Williams Memorial Teaching Award, Gershowitz has won 10 teaching awards, including the Professor of the Year prize at three different law schools. Learn more.
1L Professor of the Year Award – Professor Nancy Combs
Houghton presented the award on behalf of the Class of 2024, adding that Combs was known and “beloved by many members” of the 3L class as well. Combs is the Ernest W. Goodrich Professor of Law and Director of the Human Security Law Center. Houghton said many in the class first met Combs as 1Ls when they took her criminal law course. She taught with “passion and zeal,” and later helped many in the class “dive into different areas of international law.”
Combs has received the William & Mary Alumni Association Fellowship Award for teaching excellence and is a two-time recipient of the Plumeri Award for Faculty Excellence. Learn more.