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UH Law Center honors students, faculty and staff at 2022 Dean’s Awards Ceremony

Outstanding law faculty and staff are celebrated at the 2022 Dean’s Award Ceremony.

April 15, 2022 – The University of Houston Law Center held its annual Dean’s Awards Ceremony on Monday to recognize the achievements of law faculty, students and staff. The event was held virtually and was co-hosted by UH Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes and Associate Dean of Law Alumni and Community Relations Sondra Tennessee.

“We are very proud of your accomplishments and want to congratulate all of you because you make us who we are,” Baynes said. “We are here, to educate the next generation of attorneys, and to make sure that they have the skillsets to do well in their careers; our Law Center does an excellent job of doing that.

“I congratulate our faculty; they are top notch, and many are published in the Top 30 Law Reviews; they are also compassionate, talented, multiple award-winning individuals, and I congratulate our staff for making the Law Center operation run efficiently and effectively. Without our staff, the Law Center would not be able to accomplish anything.” I congratulate the student award winners for their exceptional academic performance,

LEX Awards recognized students who ranked highest in courses that included Constitutional Law, Contracts, Procedure, Property, Torts, Lawyering Skills and Strategies and Intro to American Law.

Recipients included: Kathleen J. Douglas-Rowald, Brock C. Jones, Emily A. Muenster, Matthew W. Welsh, Mackenzie Caldwell, Kaileigh E. Mallin, Chelsea D. Ogan, Caroline M. Smyrl, Joshua J. Easterson, Mohamad S. Fattouh, Brock C. Jones, Madison G. Moehlig, Emily A. Muenster, Karina A. Sanches, Grace A. Binger, Nicole M. Carter, Rachel K. Howard, Karina A. Sanchez, Alexia A. Rauen, Alexandra A. Reiher, Kimberly R. Seiler, Laura A. Strong, Georgina Tomalty, Matthew W. Welsh, Dinusha Wijesinghe, Shelby E. Williams, John P. Wittman, Meral Arabaci Seyfe, Benjamin A. Blefeld, Luke V. Brock, Mackenzie Caldwell, Levi S. Camden, Adriana Curiel, Michael T. Dinnella, Amanda Dorman, Anne Fogel, Elizabeth A. Gallaspy, Rachel K. Howard, Venodhar R. Julapalli, Kaileigh E. Mallin, Laura C. Murray, Laura T. Natchev, Hanna Niner, Chelsea D. Ogan, Madeline E. O’Neil, Adriana Curiel, Jennifer N. Bazzle, Aaron C. Cromer, Emily A. Muenster, Philip M. Rando, Megan T. Rose, Nathan Halaney

Awards were also garnered by students for receiving top grades, engaging in successful interviews, volunteerism and extracurricular activities, and writing compelling seminar papers.

Five distinguished law faculty and staff awards included:

  • 2022 Ethel M. Baker Faculty Award: Professor of Practice Ryan M. Marquez
  • 2022 Staff Award: Assistant to the Dean Luana Gearing, Executive Administrative Assistant T. Michelle Spencer
  • ·2022 Order of the Barons Professor of the Year: Sapna Kumar, Professor of Law, John Mixon Chair and Co-Director for the Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law
  • 2022 Student Bar Association Professor of the Year – Full-Time: Meredith Duncan, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Metropolitan Programs and Alumnae College Professor of Law
  • 2022 Student Bar Association Professor of the Year – Part-Time: Clinical Associate Professor in Lawyering Skills & Strategies Lauren Jansen Simpson

“Congratulations to all of our professors on your awards and to all of our staff members,” Tennessee said. “We appreciate your dedication.”

Many prominent donors to the law school were also on hand for the event.

“I also need to thank our donors,” Tennessee said. “Without them, none of these awards would be possible. Thank you so much to the donors who support our mission and support our students.”

For a complete list of winners and award recipients, click here to view the 2022 Dean’s Awards Ceremony program.

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