The University of Colorado Law School (Colorado Law) announced today that it has created a new visiting professor program that will bring the nation’s leading experts from academia and the judiciary to campus for both short and semester-long classes in areas of key concern for the next generation of law students.
“The Thomson Visitor Program is uniquely designed to promote our institutional values of academic innovation, excellence, and diversity as well as foster opportunities for student mentoring and faculty dialogue,” said Dean Phil Weiser.
“The impressive range of expertise offered by our Thomson visitors further expands our ability to provide innovative curricular offerings that facilitate our students’ acquisition of the qualities and competencies necessary for success in the changing legal market,” said Helen Norton, professor and associate dean for academic affairs. “More specifically, these offerings contribute to our overall curricular effort to develop students’ problem-solving skills, specialized domain knowledge, and critical thinking ability.”
The following individuals, who have been selected as Colorado Law’s inaugural Thomson Visitors, will teach at the law school in 2013-2014.
Professor Maxine Burkett, a faculty member at the University of Hawaii, will teach Climate Justice, a Wintersession class that examines the intersection of human rights and climate change. Burkett was previously on the faculty at Colorado Law and recently served as the director of a climate adaptation institute.
Judge Maurice Foley, a judge on the U.S. Tax Court, will teach a short course on federal Tax Policy. Foley was previously a lawyer at the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, and U.S. Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy. The first African American appointed to the U.S. Tax Court (in 1995), Foley was reappointed in 2011.
Judge Neil Gorsuch, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, will teach Legal Ethics and Antitrust. Gorsuch, who has a doctorate from Oxford, previously served as Deputy Associate Attorney General in the Justice Department and worked in private practice, was appointed to the 10th Circuit in 2006.
Professor Bruce Kramer, a long-time professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, will teach Oil & Gas and Advanced Oil & Gas. Kramer has authored leading works in oil, gas, energy, and land use, and also represented clients in private practice.
Professor Maureen Ryan, previously of the University of Wyoming College of Law, will teach Wills & Trusts and Property Law. Ryan’s research and scholarship has focused on property, legal history, intellectual property, and natural resources.
Professor Ken Sharpe, a faculty member at Swarthmore College, will teach Legal Ethics and Professionalism, partnering with Professor Deborah Cantrell to consider the ethical issues that arise while students are practicing in clinical legal education. Sharpe is the author of several leading books on political science and ethics.
Photo: Clockwise from top left: Judge Neil Gorsuch, Professor Maxine Burkett, Professor Bruce Kramer, Judge Maurice Foley, Professor Maureen Ryan, and Professor Ken Sharpe.