{"id":98052,"date":"2023-04-12T09:32:15","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T13:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=98052"},"modified":"2023-04-18T09:45:03","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T13:45:03","slug":"faculty-chairs","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2023\/faculty-chairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Recognizing Excellence in Faculty"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin record-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-top has-text-position-x-left has-text-position-y-bottom has-primary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-scaled.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Law professor with his back to the camera teaching students gathered before him in a lecture hall listening intently.\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-992x662.jpg 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-1920x1281.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-1984x1323.jpg 1984w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-1499x1000.jpg 1499w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/18-1230-LAW1-005-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Research<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRecognizing Excellence in Faculty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Kevin Outterson and Jack Beermann were recently named the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Law and the Philip S. Beck Professor of Law, respectively.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar record-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">April 12, 2023<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/authors\/rebecca-beyer\/\">Rebecca Beyer<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph record-block-editorial-introparagraph is-style-dropcap-dimensional has-dropcap has-dropcap-color-primary\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph-content\"><p>When Boston University School of Law Professor&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/kevin-outterson\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kevin Outterson<\/a>&nbsp;was named the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Law last fall in recognition of his research, teaching, and scholarship, he assumed a title that dates back nearly a century.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Fletcher, an 1880 graduate of BU Law who later&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/timesmachine.nytimes.com\/timesmachine\/1923\/07\/07\/104965399.html?pageNumber=11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">taught oratory at the school<\/a>, established the professorship shortly before his death in 1923, creating it with several pieces of property he owned in New York City. The Fletcher professorship was the first named chair in BU Law\u2019s history, and for decades, it was the only one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even today, there are only a handful of named professorships at the school of law available to award to faculty for their accomplishments and support their scholarship or to recruit talented new scholars to teach. But Dean&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/angela-onwuachi-willig\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Angela Onwuachi-Willig<\/a>&nbsp;and her team hope to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of the priorities in Boston University\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/plan2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Strategic Plan<\/a>&nbsp;is \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/plan2020\/strategic-priorities\/research-that-matters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">research that matters<\/a>,\u2019\u201d Onwuachi-Willig explains. \u201cIn order to produce research that matters, we need financial resources like endowed professorships to support that work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/zach-dubin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zach Dubin<\/a>, assistant dean for development and alumni relations, agrees, adding that named professorships are a way to acknowledge the expertise and impact of BU Law faculty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are trying to shout a bit louder from the rooftops about how amazing some of our programs are,\u201d he says. \u201cThese chairs allow the school to demonstrate our continued leadership in specific spaces and sectors and to attract the very best talent in those areas and reward and acknowledge them properly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote record-block-bu-pullquote alignwide is-style- has-image-focus-center-middle has-primary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote-inner\"><figure><\/figure><blockquote><div class=\"container-lockup\"><div class=\"container-icon-outer\"><div class=\"container-icon-inner\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"container-text\"><hr\/><div class=\"quote-sizing\">These chairs allow the school to demonstrate our continued leadership in specific spaces and sectors and to attract the very best talent in those areas and reward and acknowledge them properly.<\/div><footer class=\"caption\">Zach Dubin, assistant dean for development and alumni relations<\/footer><hr\/><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Onwuachi-Willig received the&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/articles\/2021\/trustee-alum-endows-new-antiracism-professorship-at-school-of-law\/\" target=\"_blank\">newest named professorship in 2021<\/a>, when Ryan Roth Gallo (\u201999), a Boston University trustee, and her husband created the Ryan Roth Gallo and Ernest J. Gallo Professorship in critical race theory\u2014the only professorship in the subject in the country. Last year, in addition to Outterson\u2019s designation as the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Law, Professor&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/jack-m-beermann\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jack M. Beermann<\/a>&nbsp;was named the Philip S. Beck Professor of Law, a chair created by Beck, a 1976 graduate, in 2005. The other named professorships at BU Law are the Robert Kent chair, which&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/linda-c-mcclain\/\" target=\"_blank\">Linda C. McClain<\/a>&nbsp;holds; the Honorable Paul J. Liacos Professorship, held by&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/james-e-fleming\/\" target=\"_blank\">James E. Fleming<\/a>; and the William and Patricia Kleh Visiting Professorship in International Law, currently held by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/zachary-kaufman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zachary Kaufman<\/a>. There are also several named scholar positions at BU Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BU Law faculty have been honored with University-wide named chairs as well. <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/keith-n-hylton\/\" target=\"_blank\">Keith N. Hylton<\/a>,&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/gary-s-lawson\/\" target=\"_blank\">Gary S. Lawson<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/george-j-annas-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">George Annas<\/a> (who teaches at the law school and the School of Public Health), hold&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/awards-publications\/award-opportunities\/william-fairfield-warren-distinguished-professorship\/\" target=\"_blank\">William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professorships<\/a>, which are awarded by the University\u2019s president. <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/wendy-j-gordon\/\" target=\"_blank\">Wendy J. Gordon<\/a>&nbsp;is a Warren Emeritus Professor. And&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/ngozi-okidegbe\/\" target=\"_blank\">Ngozi Okidegbe<\/a>&nbsp;holds a&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/provost\/awards-publications\/award-opportunities\/career-development-professorships\/\" target=\"_blank\">Moorman-Simon Career Development Professorship<\/a>&nbsp;from the provost\u2019s office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For many years, Outterson codirected the top-ranked&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/academics\/explore-your-options\/health-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Health Law Program<\/a>,&nbsp;and he now serves as executive director of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carb-x.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CARB-X<\/a>, a global nonprofit that supports the development of new antibiotics, vaccines, and rapid diagnostics to address the urgent health threat of drug-resistant bacteria. He says he was \u201cthrilled\u201d to receive the news of his professorship from Onwuachi-Willig in the fall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an honor at this point in my career to receive this recognition from my colleagues and the University,\u201d he says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Outterson says the financial resources that accompany named professorships are critical. He points out that he started researching antibiotics with a $20,000 grant from a BU Law alum; today, this work has blossomed into CARB-X, which has 27 employees and more than $800 million in funding has been committed from governments and foundations, with more on the way. Outterson\u2019s work also has led to the development of so-called \u201cpull\u201d incentives, which guarantee government payments for successful antibiotics and which the Center for Global Development reported recently would save 9.9 million lives over the next three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beermann\u2019s scholarship focuses on civil rights litigation and administrative law. In 2021, the University Press of Kansas published Beermann\u2019s book, <a href=\"https:\/\/scholarship.law.bu.edu\/books\/267\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Journey to Separate But Equal: Madame Decuir\u2019s Quest for Racial Justice in the Reconstruction Era<\/em><\/a>, which examines the story behind a case that helped cement Jim Crow laws in the South. Beermann is also coauthor on a widely used casebook on administrative law (with&nbsp;two former BU Law Deans, Ronald A. Cass&nbsp;and Colin S. Diver) and has published on subjects&nbsp;as varied as public pension reform, the reach of Reconstruction-era civil rights statutes, midnight regulation, and&nbsp;presidential transitions more generally. He&nbsp;serves&nbsp;as an appointed public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a federal government agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a nice feeling to know that your work is appreciated by the administration and your colleagues,\u201d he says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Increasing funds for named professorships is a major goal for Onwuachi-Willig.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor its entire history, the law school has been well known for the high quality of its faculty, not just as scholars but as teachers,\u201d Dubin says. \u201cAs we move into the future, our faculty will be front and center of our efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s fitting since faculty are so often the highlight of a student\u2019s experience on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">\u201cThere is not an alum whom I\u2019ve talked to who doesn\u2019t mention the importance of teaching and mentoring at BU Law,\u201d Onwuachi-Willig says. \u201cThere\u2019s an enormous connection between excellent research and teaching. Endowed chairs and professorships allow us to continue to attract the kinds of top-notch faculty who will ensure that generations of students have the same transformational educational experience.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-aside record-block-editorial-aside has-primary-background\">\n<p>If you are interested in supporting a faculty professorship, please contact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/zach-dubin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zach Dubin<\/a>, associate dean for Development &amp; Alumni Relations, at <a href=\"mailto:zdubin@bu.edu\">zdubin@bu.edu<\/a> or 617-353-7039.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Boston University School of Law Professor Kevin Outterson was named the Austin B. 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