Each year, students from the College of Arts and Sciences and Lewis & Clark Law School reflect on the extraordinary teaching of their respective professors and select one for top teaching honors.
This spring, students in the College of Arts and Sciences named Iva Stavrov, associate professor of mathematical sciences, Teacher of the Year.
Stavrov, who specializes in differential geometry and algebraic topology, joined Lewis & Clark in 2005. She earned her BS from the University of Belgrade and her MA and PhD from the University of Oregon. She is the author of numerous research publications. Student nominators cited her demanding yet inspiring teaching style, her passion and dedication to her subject, her open-door policy, and her compassion for students as deserving of recognition.
“Iva is different than any other teacher I’ve ever had,” wrote one student. “Her ability to make her lectures flow from beginning to end is extremely helpful to understanding a subject like math.” Another student wrote: “Iva is always welcoming in her advice, even if your question is shockingly fundamental, incredibly nuanced, or completely unrelated to the assignment at hand.”
The Teacher of the Year is named each year by members of the Pamplin Society of Fellows, who solicit nominations from undergraduate students.
Melissa Powers JD ’01: Law School’s Leo Levenson Award
Melissa Powers JD ’01, assistant professor of law, won the law school’s Leo Levenson Award for Teaching Excellence. Powers teaches energy law, climate change law, the Clean Air Act, torts, and administrative law. Her research interests include energy law (with a specific focus on laws designed to promote renewable energy), domestic policies aimed at mitigating climate change, and U.S. pollution-control laws. She is also interested in comparative law study in each of these areas. Powers earned her BA from the University of California at Berkeley and her JD from Lewis & Clark Law School.
“Powers is fabulous. She’s one of the most approachable profs on campus—she’s always supportive,” says one of her students. Another writes, “She’s enthusiastic, extremely intelligent, and has a sense of humor. She’s an incredible professor.”
The law school’s teaching award is named for Leo Levenson, who was a distinguished Oregon attorney and a highly respected instructor at the law school for many years. It is presented annually to a faculty member selected by the graduating class.
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