Four Vanderbilt law professors have received Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Awards for the 2008-09 academic year. The Hall-Hartman Awards, named for retired professors and famed teachers Don Hall and Paul Hartman, recognize outstanding classroom teaching and are based on student votes.
First-year students recognized Professors Suzanna Sherry and Brian Fitzpatrick, both of whom taught Civil Procedure, with Hall-Hartman Awards.
Second- and third-year students recognized Professor Randall Thomas with the Hall Division of the Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Award for his course in Corporations and Business Entities, and Professor Richard Nagareda with the Hartman Division of the Hall-Hartman Award for his Complex Litigation course and his Complex Litigation Capstone Seminar.
The Vanderbilt Bar Association, which administers the awards, instituted a change in the Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Awards for this academic year. "In the past, three Hall-Hartman Awards were given out: one to a professor in each of the 1L sections, and one to a professor teaching electives for 2Ls, 3Ls and LLMs," says VBA President Charlie Gearing. "The latter category included professors who taught large courses with 50 or more students and professors who may have only taught a seminar during the entire year. Because these situations present different challenges, the VBA decided to change the administration of the awards this year to give two awards to professors teaching 2L/3L/LLM electives by creating two divisions, with the ‘Hall Division’ award applying to professors who taught courses with more than 50 students during an academic year, and the ‘Hartman Division’ applying to those who taught courses with 50 or fewer students over the course of the year."