Golden Mustang Award
The Golden Mustangs, SMU alumni who graduated at least fifty years ago, have established an award for the advancement of teaching and learning.
This award of $1000 is given each year to a junior, tenure-track faculty member, whose teaching is consistently excellent; whose courses reflect thoughtful curricular development; and whose scholarship makes a meaningful contribution to the discipline and to student learning.
2020 Recipient
Assistant Professor Natalie Nanasi, Dedman School of Law
Professor Nanasi is an Assistant Professor of Law and the Director of the Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes against women. She is a prolific scholar and student evaluations highlight how much she is loved by her students. One of the important contributions of Professor Nanasi is her role as a clinician while also a teacher and scholar. Blending these roles, especially before tenure, is quite remarkable. In a letter of recommendation, a former student mentioned that Professor Nanasi’s office was “the only one I consistently left feeling inspired and empowered to do more.” During
the COVID pandemic, she demonstrated great adaptability pivoting to remote teaching. She employs thoughtful pedagogy and is really careful and deliberate about addressing students’ needs. Professor Nanasi is up for tenure this year which also led to the committee wanting to make sure she was recognized in her last year of eligibility.
For a list of previous recipients, click here.