School of Law News
Professor Ellen Sward awarded Kemper fellowship
Law school fall events scheduled
Professor Ellen Sward awarded Kemper fellowship
On Aug. 17, Professor Ellen Sward’s Civil Procedure class was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the KU “surprise patrol” made up of Chancellor Robert Hemenway, Commerce Bank President Mark Heider, and Dale Seuferling, president of the KU Endowment Association. The surprise was a welcome one, as Sward was presented with a $5,000 Kemper Fellowship.
The Kemper Fellowship awards recognize outstanding teachers and advisers at KU as determined by a seven-member selection committee. Now in their 12th year, the awards are supported by $650,000 in gifts from the William T. Kemper Foundation (Commerce Bank, trustee) and $650,000 in matching funds from KU Endowment.
Sward, a Harvard University Law School graduate, joined the KU law faculty in 1984 after private practice in Madison, Wis., and Washington, D.C. Her teaching and research interests are civil procedure and federal courts. She has also has been active in curriculum planning and reform. Sward was named a Dean James Green Fellow, 1996-’99, in recognition of her service to the law school. She is also the school’s Robert A. Schroeder Teaching Fellow, a rotating three-year fellowship honoring a faculty member for teaching.
It’s not unusual to see Sward dining with her students. She regularly schedules informal lunches with small groups of students as a way to advise and mentor them. In her 23 years of teaching at KU, she has influenced the lives of countless students and many of them have continued to stay in touch with her throughout their careers.
Sward’s students fondly report a lasting effect of the lessons learned in her classes. One student said, “some of the most challenging and educational discussions in law school took place in her federal courts classroom.” Another student said the one-on-one sessions Sward provided were invaluable and encouraged him to accept a student teacher position at the law school and to consider becoming a law professor in the future.
Law school fall events scheduled
The fall semester is well underway in Green Hall. There are a wide variety of programs and activities scheduled.
KU Law will host the first Alumni Reunion Weekend, Oct. 5-6. The SBA’s 8th annual Race Ipsa charity walk/run will be held in conjunction with the reunion activities. On Oct. 27, students and alumni will volunteer their time to help worthy causes in the Lawrence community in the first ever “KU Law Making a Difference.”
Several forums are also on the fall schedule, including a program on Climate Change Policy, co-sponsored by KU Law and the Center for Progressive Reform and symposia on Law and International Financial Institutions, and Law at the Frontiers of Biology. Dr. Fawaz Al-Alamy, senior adviser to the Minister of Commerce and Industry and Saudi Arabia Chief Technical Negotiator, will be the guest speaker for the annual diplomat’s forum.
A detailed list of events can be viewed at http://www.law.ku.edu/events.
Visit the School of Law Web site for more information.
