Awards and Honors

Faculty Awards

The Berkeley Law faculty is known for its academic excellence and commitment to teaching. Students learn from legal scholars who are nationally, and internationally recognized as authorities in their fields. Faculty members are actively engaged in research and in service to the public and to the profession locally, nationally and internationally.

Berkeley Law’s faculty has long been recognized and honored for its outstanding teaching. Two awards programs recognize these teaching skills:

The UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award

Established in 1959, the UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award encourages and celebrates teaching excellence. Each year several Berkeley professors are chosen from more than 1,300 faculty members to receive the award.

Berkeley Law is proud to have had 17 award recipients from the law school faculty. They are:

2022 Andrew Bradt
2021 Molly Van Houweling (Extraordinary Teaching in Extraordinary Times Award)
2019 Andrea Roth
2016 Anne Joseph O’Connell
2012 David Sklansky
2009 Goodwin Liu
2000 Eleanor Swift
1998 Jesse H. Choper
1995 Rachel F. Moran
1993 William A. Fletcher
1990 Melvin A. Eisenberg
1987 Robert C. Berring Jr. ’74
1984 James R. Gordley
1983 Caleb Foote
1983 Marjorie M. Shultz
1962 Herma Hill Kay
1960 Sho Sato

The Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction

The Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction honors Berkeley Law professors who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to teaching. The annual award was established in 1995 by William A. Rutter, philanthropist, lawyer, educator, and author. The award recipients are:

2023 Kenneth Ayotte
2022 Molly Van Houweling
2021 Bertrall Ross
2020 Amanda Tyler
2019 Andrew Bradt
2018 Robert Bartlett
2017 Kristen Holmquist
2016 Andrea Roth
2015 Elisabeth A. Semel
2014 Melissa Murray
2013 Patricia Plunkett Hurley
2012 Anne Joseph O’Connell
2011 Stephen Bundy
2010 Eric Rakowski
2009 Philip Frickey
2008 Marjorie Shultz
2006 Jesse Choper
2005 Herma Hill Kay
2004 Howard Shelanski ’92
2003 Angela P. Harris
2002 Melvin A. Eisenberg
2001 James R. Gordley
2000 Linda Hamilton Krieger
1999 Andrea L. Peterson ’78
1998 Eleanor Swift
1997 John P. Dwyer ’80
1996 Paul J. Mishkin
1995 Jan Vetter