Stetson Law honors work of professors and administrators

Contact Aaron Reincheld
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law recently honored the contributions of administrators and professors.

Professor Dorothea Beane received the 2005 Excellence in Teaching Award. The university-level Excellence in Teaching Award is the highest teaching honor awarded to Stetson faculty. Beane, Stetson’s first black full professor, teaches civil procedure, federal pretrial practice and international human rights at Stetson. She also will serve as director of Stetson Law’s Summer Abroad Program at The Hague, Netherlands, beginning next month.

Professors Michael Allen and James Fox received 2005 Homer and Dolly Hand Awards. The university-level Homer and Dolly Hand Awards recognize excellence in faculty scholarship. Allen teaches constitutional law, civil procedure and federal courts. He is active in a variety of research areas, including federal versus state government authority, the right to die and personal jurisdiction. With Stetson Professor Michael Finch, Allen is co-author of An Illustrated Guide to Civil Procedure, to be published next year.

Fox teaches contracts, poverty and public benefits law, and American legal history. He has done extensive research on the 14th Amendment, currently focusing on the experience of Jim Crow by southern blacks and whites. He also has written about democratic citizenship, poverty and contract theory.

Vice Dean and Professor Royal C. Gardner and Associate Vice President of College Relations Dotti Bressi received Dean’s Awards. Bressi spearheaded the Cornerstone Campaign, a fundraising effort that generated more than $12 million in donations to the College over the last few years. The money has been used for campus improvements, faculty and staff development, and student scholarships.

Gardner was honored for his administrative contributions to Stetson as director of graduate and international programs, co-director of Stetson’s International Environmental Moot Court Competition, associate dean, and vice dean. Gardner is stepping down as vice dean to return to teaching and serve as director of Stetson’s new Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy.