Fordham Law Professor Robin A. Lenhardt was honored with the Clyde Ferguson Award at the Association of American Law Schools 2019 Annual Meeting, held Jan. 2–6 in New Orleans.
The Clyde Ferguson Award, named after the late Harvard Law professor and United States Ambassador to Uganda, recognizes “an outstanding law teacher, who in the course of his or her career has achieved excellence in the areas of public service, teaching, and scholarship.” The award is the AALS Minority Groups Section’s highest honor for senior faculty.
Lenhardt, who is the faculty director of Fordham’s Center on Race, Law & Justice, described the award as an “incredible honor” and “very humbling” both to be associated with a legal academic giant such as Ferguson and to be part of the august group of law professors who have previously received the award. For Lenhardt, the recognition only confirms the need to continue her work.
“To me, this award is a call to work even harder,” Lenhardt said. “As grateful as I am, there is so much more that I want to do to make progress on the issues of race and inequality in which I and so many others have been engaged.”
The Clyde Ferguson Award is particularly intended for law professors “who have provided support, encouragement, and mentoring to colleagues, students, and aspiring legal educators.” The ways in which Lenhardt helps others achieve their own aspirations are many and varied, ranging from engaging with community organizations and providing advice and guidance to students and colleagues on a host of issues to the collaborative spirit she brings to the Center on Race, Law & Justice and her other scholarly pursuits at the Law School. Her work is driven by a desire to serve and promote justice.
“Entering into legal academia, I understood that service and engagement, especially on issues of race and inequality, were an integral part of my work,” Lenhardt said. “I am determined to do my part to advance justice from the incredible perch I have in the academy.”
Robin Lenhardt and Matthew Diller at the AALS event in New Orleans
