Two professors receive McGlothlin Award for Exceptional Teaching
Celebrating teaching: This year's McGlothlin Awards for Exceptional Teaching went to Law Professor Jeffrey Bellin (second from left, with Law Dean Davison Douglas) and Chancellor Professor of Business Kimberly Smith. Photos courtesy of W&M Law School and the Mason School of Business
Two William & Mary professors were recently honored with the McGlothlin Award for Exceptional Teaching.
The annual award was established in 2016 and is given to two outstanding educators, one from W&M Law School and one from the Mason School of Business, who have demonstrated sustained commitments to teaching. The recognition includes a substantial prize for each recipient, made possible through the generosity of James W. McGlothlin '62, J.D. '64, LL.D. '00 and Frances Gibson McGlothlin '66, L.H.D. '18.
Law Professor Jeffrey Bellin and Chancellor Professor of Business Kimberly Smith received this year's awards over Commencement weekend.
Jeffrey Bellin
“We are grateful to Jim and Fran for their incredible generosity and foresight in establishing an award to celebrate exceptional teaching,” said Law School Dean Davison M. Douglas. “This year’s recipient, Jeff Bellin, is a marvelous recipient of the McGlothlin Teaching Award. He is an award-winning teacher who effectively uses his considerable experience as a former federal prosecutor to bring a real-life perspective to his teaching. Our students flock to his classes.”
Bellin was named a University Professor for Teaching Excellence for a three-year term in 2017 by a university-wide faculty selection committee and also has held a Cabell Research Professorship for two academic terms (2015-16 and 2016-17). The university recognized him in 2015 with a Plumeri Award for Faculty Excellence, and, in 2014, he was honored by the graduating class with the Walter L. Williams, Jr., Memorial Teaching Award.
“You could make a case for just about anyone on our faculty to win this award,” Bellin said. “In my case, all the credit belongs to our smart, thoughtful, engaged students who make teaching fun, my colleagues on the faculty who inspire me to find innovative ways to communicate the intricacies of the law, and William & Mary for preserving an atmosphere that allows dedicated teachers to thrive.”
Bellin teaches and writes in the areas of evidence, criminal law and criminal procedure, and many of the nation’s leading legal journals have featured his scholarship, including the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Northwestern University Law Review, and the Michigan Law Review. He is the author of two books: Volume 30B in Federal Practice & Procedure, which covers federal hearsay rules, and The Virginia and Federal Rules of Evidence: A Concise Comparison with Commentary. Numerous media have featured his legal perspective in their news coverage, including the Associated Press, ABC, CNN, NPR, USA Today, and the Washington Post.
He is a member of the National Center for State Courts’ Research Advisory Council and also has assisted federal courts in investigations of alleged judicial misconduct.
Bellin received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, summa cum laude, and his law degree from Stanford Law School, where he was elected to Order of the Coif. Before beginning his academic career, he clerked for Judge Merrick Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, served as a prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and practiced in the San Diego office of Latham & Watkins.
Kimberly Smith
Smith teaches professional accounting to Master of Accounting students at the Mason School.
“The students here are so amazing that teaching becomes an intellectual challenge rather than a duty," Smith said. "The W&M alumni are so loyal that you know your hard work is appreciated and remembered.”
Smith has won a number of teaching awards, including the William and Mary Alumni Fellowship Award in 1994, the Dean's MBA Teaching Award in 1993 and 1996 and the Master of Accounting Program Outstanding Professor Award in 2005. When speaking about the McGlothlin Teaching Award, Smith said, “An award such as [this] motivates an entire generation of faculty members to continually innovate in the classrooms and programs in which they teach.”
Smith has authored a number of articles in leading journals such as The Accounting Review, Journal of Business, Accounting Organizations and Society, Journal of Management Accounting Research, and Issues in Accounting Education.
Her research has focused on control systems for capital investment projects and the dynamic relation between CEO pay and firm performance. In addition, Smith has served in a variety of leadership roles related to teaching and curriculum. These roles include chairing the Curriculum and Teaching Committee during the development of the Online MBA, the Master’s of Science in Business Analytics and the new residential MBA curriculum initiatives.
Smith is committed to preparing the next generation of business professionals. Her years of experience from outside business ventures allow her to bring real life scenarios and experiences alive for her students, regularly presenting education programs in private industry, including programs at Stifel Nicolaus, Legg Mason, Landmark Communications, Smithfield Foods, Inc., CSX, and ARINC, among others.
As a criterion for this award, professors must be dedicated to constantly innovating their teaching techniques. As a professor at W&M, Dr. Smith has consistently created innovative cases, courses, and program initiatives. Smith’s current curriculum project is to further develop and promote a new specialization in W&M’s MAcc program that prepares students to pursue doctoral study in accounting and become accounting professors. She notes, “The nation-wide shortage of accounting professors, combined with W&M’s great reputation for sending students on to doctoral study, makes this a natural place to help develop the next generation of teacher/scholars.”
