When the 2011-2012 academic year commences in August, two new permanent professors, one already well known to students and the community and the other a transplant from California, will join the permanent faculty at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.
Emily Chiang, who has been a visiting assistant professor for the past two years, and Michael Teter, who has been teaching at his alma mater, Pomona College, will be joining the College of Law faculty as junior faculty members. “Both of these exceptional young scholars fuse top-level academic work and dedicated service to the cause of justice with a demonstrated love for teaching and a reputation for excellence in the classroom,” said Dean Hiram Chodosh. “We look forward to the invaluable contributions each will make to the College and the society beyond.”
Fresh from teaching Constitutional Law II this summer, Emily Chiang, is already counting the days until the Public Policy Clinic commences again in the fall. “I am very much looking forward to starting the clinic up again — the students have done some incredible work the last couple of years and I think that together we can really make a difference in our community,” Chiang said. “I’m hoping that now that I have a more permanent position, I’ll be able to reach out to even more students and they in turn will be able to rely on me as a resource.”
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Chiang worked at Brennan Center for Justice at N.Y.U. School of Law and for the American Civil Liberties Union prior to teaching at the College of Law. Since arriving in Utah, in 2009, she has taught CLE’s, presented at local and national conferences, and authored several publications. Her areas of expertise include Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Discrimination, Education Law, Public Interest Practice, and Race and the Law.
Joining the College of Law during Fall Semester is Michael Teter, who avers that he is “thrilled to be joining the University of Utah College of Law. The law school’s focus on fostering dynamic interactions among faculty, students, and the larger legal community creates an ideal place for learning and teaching. I’m looking forward to being a part of it.”
Teter will be teaching Constitutional Law and Legislation, a course focused on the legislative process and statutory interpretation. “I’m actually coming from a two-year stint teaching in the politics department at my undergraduate alma mater, Pomona College, which provided great insights into connecting legal questions to larger political and societal issues,” he explained. “I also strive to maintain a robust pro bono practice and am currently part of a legal team representing a young woman incarcerated in California.” Teter and his fellow team members recently won the young woman a commutation from outgoing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and have a habeas petition pending before the California Supreme Court.
Teter is a graduate of Yale Law School. Prior to teaching at Pomona College, he was a teaching fellow in the Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic at Georgetown Law. Before that, he was an litigation associate at Perkins Coie in Seattle, Washington. His areas of expertise are legislative process, statutory interpretation, constitutional law, and law and politics. He recently finished an article questioning the constitutionality of the Senate filibuster and is currently working on a paper focusing on the judicial confirmation process.