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May 14th 2006 • Printer version A CRYSTAL APPLE FOR
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR TOM LININGER
University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer presented law
professor Tom Lininger with a crystal apple -- "a symbol of teaching
excellence" -- in a surprise visit to a law faculty meeting
on Friday, May 12.
Frohnmayer was accompanied by Lininger's wife,
Merle Weiner, also a professor at the law school, and the couple's two
sons.
"I've learned a lot from the other faculty here at the University of
Lininger, an assistant professor of law who joined the faculty in 2003,
is the seventh law faculty member to receive the Ersted Award for
Distinguished Teaching.
This university-wide award recognizes exemplary
teaching by faculty members early in their careers. Two winners are
chosen each year based on the recommendation of faculty members and
students; they receive a $2,000 stipend added to their base salary.
Lininger has taught evidence, ethics, criminal procedure, and
alternative dispute resolution. He also directs the law school's Public
Interest/Public Service Program. In 2004, Oregon Governor Ted
Kulongoski appointed Lininger to chair the state's Criminal Justice
Commission.
The new Ersted Award winner is a former Lane County commissioner and
federal prosecutor whose experience in criminal law and policy makes
him a demanding instructor. He carefully hones the reasoning skills of
his students and inspires critical thought.
Students say his classes are filled with humor and passion, and student evaluators
call him simply outstanding.
Lininger has enlivened his classes with a number of innovative teaching
techniques. His students have simulated Supreme Court arguments
at the same time the Court is hearing actual cases; afterward, students
can then compare their conclusions with those reached by the
Court.
Lininger's students have engaged in policy
discussions that have resulted in legislative proposals that he has
presented to the Oregon House Judiciary Committee. During a unit
addressing the confirmation process for judicial nominees, Lininger
organized a game show called The Nominating Game (modeled after The
Dating Game).
Lininger grew up in Ashland and is a graduate of Yale and of Harvard
Law School. He worked as a federal prosecutor and as a litigator for
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom in San Francisco.
He was
recently invited to join a working group advising the U.S. Senate
Judiciary Committee on legislative strategies for responding to the
Supreme Court™s new rulings restricting the use of hearsay in criminal
prosecutions.
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Oregon," Lininger said. "There are some great professors at this
school who provide a model for the junior faculty."