Professor Joe to Receive 2024 Distinguished Teaching Award

Professor Irene Oritseweyinmi Joe will receive the 2024 Distinguished Teaching Award at Celebrating King Hall on Thursday, March 7 at the Mondavi Center. The award, supported by the generosity of Bill and Sally Rutter, honors “law teachers who give stellar performances in the classroom.”

Among other accolades, Joe also recently was named a UC Davis Chancellor's Fellow.

A professor at King Hall since 2016, Professor Joe teaches in the areas of criminal Law, criminal procedure, professional responsibility (legal ethics), and voir dire (jury selection). Her research focuses on how the design of the criminal process affects the ability of institutional attorneys to manage overwhelming caseloads and comply with ethical requirements. Joe’s scholarship has appeared in the California Law Review, UCLA Law Review, UC Davis Law Review, and Iowa Law Review, among others. Students praised Joe for her thought-provoking teaching style, enthusiasm, mentorship, and deep knowledge of criminal law and emphasis on humanity.

Others nominated for the Distinguished Teaching Award this year include Professors Nila Bala, Lawrence Brown, William Dodge, Luke Fadem, Diana Glick, David Horton, Courtney Joslin, Shama Mesiwala, Johann Morri, Suzanne Reuben, Leticia Saucedo and Dennis Ventry. Congratulations to each professor for excellence in teaching.

Special thanks to the selection committee: Professor Joslin (2023 Distinguished Teaching Award winner), King Hall Alumni Board President Errol Dauis ’11 and Law Students Association President Brenda Quintanilla. 

The law school also has introduced an Outstanding Staff Award, to be presented at Celebrating King Hall. The inaugural recipient is UC Davis Law Review Publications and Production Specialist Sue Walther Jones.