KNOXVILLE — A University of Tennessee law professor has won a national award for her teaching programs that put law students in internships with underserved communities.
Professor Fran Ansley has been chosen as a Carnegie Scholar by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
UT Law Dean Thomas Galligan said Ansley is widely recognized for her style of teaching students while helping the community.
“We are obviously very happy that Professor Ansley has been named a Carnegie Scholar,” Galligan said. “She has a national reputation in her field.
“She is one of the nation’s leaders in service learning, where students in the courses actually do public service as part of the learning process, and she has worked closely with the community in that capacity.”
Ansley is one of 120 Carnegie scholars chosen since the program began in 1995, and UT’s first. The program brings together outstanding faculty committed to investigating and documenting major issues and challenges of teaching their fields.
Ansley will receive a $6,000 stipend and attend a summer residence program with the Carnegie Foundation. She said the award would help her put UT law students together with community groups that need their help.
“We always have a group of students who are really interested in working with disadvantaged communities or groups,” Ansley said, “but it is a challenge to find publicly or charitably funded positions for lawyers who work with people like that. We have more students who would like to do it than we are able to place.”
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, founded in 1905, is an independent institution devoted to strengthening teaching and learning in U.S. colleges and schools.