Professor Janet Steverson Receives 2024 Leo Levenson Award
The graduating class of 2024 bestowed the prestigious Leo Levenson Excellence in Teaching Award on Douglas K. Newell Professor Janet Steverson.
The graduating class of 2024 bestowed the prestigious Leo Levenson Excellence in Teaching Award on Douglas K. Newell Professor Janet Steverson. Presenter Mariah Hogan ’24 explained the accolade recognizes Professor Steverson’s unwavering dedication to her students’ success and well-being: “Professor Steverson creates a classroom environment in all her substantive classes that is fair, supportive, and respectful at all times so that we as students could all be encouraged to learn fearlessly, by allowing ourselves to make mistakes along the way without the fear of being criticized, either by our professor or by our other peers.”
Professor Steverson is known for her rigorous courses in Contracts, Commercial Law/Sales, Children and the Law, and Family Law and has made a profound impact on her students, nurturing their growth as both aspiring attorneys and compassionate individuals. Her approach to teaching is characterized by high expectations coupled with a deep appreciation of each student’s unique potential. She noted in her acceptance speech, “It’s one thing to expect students to give their best, and it’s another thing to have students actually give their best. You all actually gave your best to acquire the knowledge and the skills that you will need to be exceptional in your careers and I am so proud of you.”
Steverson’s contributions to the field of law extend beyond the classroom. She has published extensively on topics such as interspousal tort immunity, children and the law, contracts, and drug-addicted mothers. Her work on children’s rights, in particular, showcases her commitment to advocating for vulnerable populations.
How the Leo Levenson Award Came to Be
William (Bill) C. Cox ’76 recently shared this story with us about how he and fellow classmates created the Leo Levenson Award and bestowed it on Ed Belsheim at the 1976 commencement.
In 1973, Bill came to Lewis & Clark Law School with an MBA degree and five years of experience as a management auditor/analyst for the U.S. Congress, Government Accountability Office (GAO). In the early ’70s the then-new law campus had only the library, classroom “bunkers” and the “fishbowl” (now the Gantenbein building). There was limited opportunity for students to express their opinions about the quality of instruction or for faculty members to learn of their teaching effectiveness.
Calling on his management analysis experiences, Bill thought adding a positive feedback loop to acknowledge a professor who had done an exemplary teaching job might improve the quality of education. He kept it simple: Each student would select the one professor that student felt had contributed most to his, her, or their law school experience.
Naming the Award
While clerking for local attorneys, Bill met Leo Levenson ’26. Leo was a distinguished attorney and highly respected instructor who taught at the law school in prior years. A fellow law student, David Tractenberg ’76, and Bill felt that Leo captured the essence of what it meant to teach law: He could evaluate an issue in an easy-to-grasp manner, and would often direct Bill or David to specific cases and explain their role in the recognition and evolution of various legal concepts.
So in 1976 Bill and David created the Leo Levenson Award. Each student would submit a ballot with the name of the professor at Lewis & Clark Law School who was most impactful for them, and the professor with the most votes would get the honor.
That first year, two professors stood out: Ed Belsheim and Doug Newell. Professor Belsheim edged out Professor Newell by one vote. Fast forward nearly 50 years and the graduating class continues to select a professor each spring to receive the Leo Levenson award, which has become a badge of honor.
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