Safran, Bushaw Named Top Teachers
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.
Liz Safran: Undergraduate Teacher of the Year
In April, students in the College of Arts and Sciences named Liz Safran Teacher of the Year. Safran, associate professor of geological science, is a geomorphologist who studies how landscapes evolve. She teaches in the college’s Environmental Studies Program.
“Her passion for geology, unwavering commitment to her environmental studies students, patience and thoughtfulness in office hours, and preparedness and excitement in the classroom have undoubtedly made her one of the best professors I have ever had,” writes one student nominator. “I look forward to going to class when Liz is the professor.”
Amy Bushaw: Law School’s Leo Levenson Award
Amy Bushaw, professor of law, won the law school’s Leo Levenson Award for excellence in teaching. She specializes in contracts and commercial law and, in recent years, has been exploring the relationships among economic prosperity, social development, and environmental protection. With her colleague Professor Dan Rohlf, she developed one of the first courses in the law school context to examine sustainability in law and business.
According to Torrey McConnell JD ’17, who presented the award at the law school’s May commencement, Bushaw is a respected professor and a coveted faculty advisor. “She is known by many names at the law school, including ‘the smiling assassin’ due to her extremely challenging contracts exams that she hands out with a smile,” says McConnell. “She’s outwardly warm, extremely patient, and radiates intelligence. She even has little chocolates in her office and will often bring clementines to her students on exam days.”
