Albany Law School recently recognized three outstanding members of the faculty for excellence in the categories of service, teaching, and scholarship.

Professors Melissa Breger, Patrick Connors, and Evelyn Tenenbaum received the annual awards, which were announced at the law school's 167th Commencement on May 18, 2018.

Professor Melissa Breger received the Faculty Award for Excellence in Service. Described as a "tireless and devoted supporter of Albany Law students," Professor Breger currently serves as academic advisor to 32 students, faculty advisor to all Master of Social Work dual degree students, and concentration advisor to students specializing in Family and Elder Law and Criminal Law. She rendered extraordinary service through her work on the Community Affairs and Faculty Affairs committees. Off campus, she has supported individuals in the community, challenged by legal barriers, who are experiencing deep distress. Her warm and caring personality positions her as a consistent source of information, advice, and counsel, and she does this work graciously and empathetically. Further, she worked with a number of external organizations, such as the Switzerland-based Laws journal, the Widener Law Journal on symposium planning, and Addleton Academic Publishers' Journal of Research in Gender Studies.

Professor Patrick Connors received the Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. A leading authority on New York civil practice, Professor Connors was described by his students as "the entire package for a leader in education." Through his teaching he has demonstrated sincere passion for his students, enthusiastic commitment to their success, and mastery of and dedication to his areas of expertise. Graduates have credited his New York Practice courses as invaluable to their success in passing the bar exam. "We are confident that what we have learned in New York Practice is imperative to our knowledge as a future attorneys," one group of students wrote of the Albert and Angela Farone Distinguished Professor in New York Civil Practice. "Professor Connors has truly set the bar for excellence in teaching, and if New York Practice III were an available course selection, we all might just stay for one more semester."

Professor Evelyn Tenenbaum received the Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship. One of the faculty's most prolific, reliable, and impactful scholars, Professor Tenenbaum is co-author of the widely used casebook CURRENT ISSUES IN CONSTITUTIONAL LITIGATION and has published well over a dozen articles since 2000, with placements in prestigious journals including the American Journal of Law and Medicine, Annals of Health Law, and American Journal of Bioethics, among others. In 2018, she published the co-authored article "Can Civil Lawsuits Stem the Tide of Direct-to-Consumer Marketing of Unproven Stem Cell Interventions" in npj Regenerative Medicine, and two other articles are forthcoming. Professor Tenenbaum's work is not just creative and insightful, it is also impactful. In particular, her recent work on organ donations has been a game changer: it has altered the paradigm and lens through which bioethicists look at this issue the world over.