Berkeley , CA—October 23, 2007 … The Education Law Association (ELA) has selected University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) Assistant Professor Goodwin Liu as the inaugural winner of the Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law. ELA will present the newly endowed a ward to Professor Liu at its annual conference in San Diego on November 16, 2007.
Professor Liu is being recognized for the scholarly excellence of his article, “Education, Equality, and National Citizenship,” published in the Yale Law Journal (2006). The article seeks to anchor a federal legislative duty to remedy educational inadequacy and inequality in the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause.
“I am honored to be the first winner of the Goldberg Award,” said Professor Liu. “Throughout his life, Steven Goldberg made many valuable contributions to education law, and I am pleased that the vitality of this area of scholarship will be sustained through his legacy and the important work of the Education Law Association.”
Liu’s primary areas of expertise include constitutional law, education policy, civil rights, and the Supreme Court. He has published widely on these subjects in books, law reviews, and general media. Along with School of Law Dean Christopher Edley, Jr., professor Liu is co-director of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity, a multidisciplinary think tank on civil rights law and policy.
Before joining the Boalt Hall faculty in 2003, Liu was an appellate litigator at O’Melveny & Myers in Washington. He clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg during the October 2000 Term and for Judge David Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from1998 to 1999. He also served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education from 1999 to 2000. Liu, a Rhodes Scholar, earned his B.S. from Stanford, M.A. from Oxford, and J.D. from Yale.
The Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law will be presented annually in recognition of an outstanding article, book, or book chapter authored in the prior two years that demonstrates scholarly excellence and has an impact on education law. The award was established in memory of one of ELA’s long-term members, Steven S. Goldberg, who taught education law at Arcadia and Rutgers Universities. Before he passed away in 2006, Goldberg expressed a desire to see the organization recognize exceptional talent and scholarly writing in the field of education law. He not only proposed this award, but also endowed the award.
Education Law Association (formerly NOLPE), is a nonprofit, non-advocacy organization based in Dayton, Ohio, which promotes interest in and understanding of the legal framework of education and the rights of students, parents, school boards, and school employees. ELA brings together educational and legal scholars and practitioners to inform and advance educational policy and practice through knowledge of the law. Together, ELA’s professional community anticipates trends in educational law and supports scholarly research through the highest value print and electronic publications, conferences, seminars, and professional forums. For information, visit the ELA website at www.educationlaw.org.
University of California , Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) is one of the nation’s premier public university law schools. For over a century, Boalt Hall has prepared lawyers to be skilled and ethical problem-solvers. The law school’s curriculum—one of the most comprehensive and innovative in the nation—offers its J.D. and advanced degree candidates a broad array of nearly 200 courses. Students collaborate with leading scholars and practitioners working on complex issues at more than a dozen interdisciplinary centers, institutes, and clinical programs. For more information, visit https://www.law.berkeley.edu/