Four members of the University of South Carolina School of Law faculty were recently appointed to endowed chairs or named professorships. Recipients included professors Derek W. Black, Susan S. Kuo, Joseph A. Seiner and Ned Snow.
Prof. Derek Black
Black received the Class of 1959 Chair for Legal Research. His research over the past 15 years has centered on the issue of educational inequality in the United States. Most recently he has focused on the constitutional right to an education, with a forthcoming article in the Stanford Law Review, “The Constitutional Compromise to Guarantee Education.” He has also appeared in the Cornell Law Review, Northwestern University Law Review, California Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, and the Minnesota Law Review, to name a few. His work has been cited in the U.S. Court of Appeals and by several briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In addition to a leading casebook, “Education Law: Equality, Fairness, and Reform,” Black has also solo-published, “Ending Zero Tolerance: The Crisis of Absolute School Discipline,” a call to end the draconian “zero tolerance” policies that frequently feed the school-to-prison pipeline. He is regularly sought out by the media, has written many op-ed articles for national publications, and has appeared on nationally-syndicated radio programs, including WNYC’s “The Takeaway.” In October 2018, he appeared on the TEDx stage at the University of South Carolina, discussing the importance of public education to the survival of our democracy. Black is also a member of the Law Professors Blog Network, sharing news and perspective on current events through the Education Law Prof Blog. He is also active on Twitter at @DerekWBlack.
“Receiving this chair is a very rewarding signal that my scholarship has made an impact worthy of recognition beyond just my own office,” says Black. “I am humbled to receive this honor.”
Prof. Susan Kuo
Kuo, who was appointed to the Class of 1969 Chair for Teaching Excellence, says it is gratifying to be recognized for her efforts as both a teacher and a scholar. “This chaired professorship validates the importance of classroom teaching, mentoring students, and other commitments of time and resources that are not always rewarded by law schools,” she says.
Kuo not only serves as a professor, but is also the associate dean for diversity and inclusion at South Carolina Law. In 2013, Kuo was selected as one of 26 law professors nationwide to be included in the book, “What the Best Law Teachers Do,” published by Harvard University Press. In 2014, she received the University of South Carolina Michael J. Mungo Graduate Teaching Award, and has been voted “Outstanding Faculty Member” and “Best Classroom teacher” for the School of Law multiple times. She is regularly asked to present on teaching pedagogy and will chair the 2019 AALS annual workshop for newly appointed law professors. Kuo is also collaborating with law professors at other schools on a project aimed at rethinking the standard pedagogy used in law school classrooms into one that integrates doctrine and practice, so that students build doctrinal knowledge through hands-on experiences.
Kuo’s research centers on disaster law and policy, which is becoming increasingly important as our nation is impacted by hurricanes, floods, wildfires and other natural hazards. She is an affiliated researcher with the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute, and her scholarship has been published in the Vanderbilt Law Review, Boston College Law Review, Washington University Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, and the University of California-Davis Law Review. Kuo is currently organizing a research handbook that will bring together disaster law scholars and provide an overview of the field.
Prof Joseph Seiner
Seiner received the Oliver Ellsworth Professor of Federal Practice Endowed Chair. Early in his career, Seiner served as lead counsel for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, arguing before the U.S. Court of Appeals in employment discrimination matters. These experiences proved highly influential in shaping his scholarship, where he has spent the last decade examining the intersection of federal procedural law and employment discrimination.
Seiner has solo-authored two books, “Employment Discrimination: Procedure, Principles & Practice,” and “The Supreme Court’s New Workplace,” both of which focus on workplace discrimination and offer “best practices” that can be used to help employers and employees address these complex issues that are increasingly arising in the workplace environment. A third book, “The Virtual Workplace: Defining Employment in the Modern Economy” is under contract, and will examine legal issues that often arise through the increased use of technology in the workplace, exploring topics such as worker classification, systemic claims, and unionization in the context of this emerging economy.
In addition to books, Seiner’s scholarship has appeared in a number of law reviews including the Notre Dame Law Review, the Fordham Law Review, the Boston University Law Review, and the Iowa Law Review, to name a few. He has been cited in many federal and state court decisions, most notably by the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and by the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in an en banc decision. He is a co-editor and author of the Workplace Prof Blog. Seiner also organized the 13thannual Colloquium on Scholarship in Employment and Labor Law (COSELL), hosted at South Carolina Law in September 2018, which brought together thirty national and international labor and employment scholars to discuss works in progress.
“Receiving the Oliver Ellsworth Professor of Federal Practice Chair is an incredible privilege, for which I am very grateful,” says Seiner. “I very much appreciate the School of Law and the University of South Carolina’s recognition of my scholarship.”
Prof. Ned Snow
Snow was appointed to the Ray Taylor Fair Professorship, which he says will further his scholarship on the intersection of intellectual property and constitutional law. “I am honored to have received this fellowship, and appreciate the opportunity it provides me to study and comment on the role of law in establishing norms that govern creations of the mind.”
Snow’s most recent article “Denying Trademark for Scandalous Speech,” was his third to be published by the University of California-Davis Law Review. He has also been published in the Indiana Law Journal, Boston College Law Review, Brigham Young University Law Review and the Alabama Law Review, among others.
Additionally, he has developed three mobile apps, “Future Interests Made Simple,” “Property Law Made Simple,” and his most recent, “Learn IP Law,” which serves as a companion study aid for “Intellectual Property: A Survey of the Law,” a casebook also authored by Snow in 2017. The apps can be found in both the Google Play and iTunes stores.