Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching
Teaching Medal Award Winner
Melody MacKenzie
Manoa
Melody MacKenzie is an associate professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law at 51²è¹Ý Manoa.
Passionate about law, she values generosity, humility and kindness in her teaching, and treats her students with the respect that each of them deserves.
Her courses are described by a colleague as a “unique blend of indigenous peoples struggles with western law, both highly conceptual and intensely grounded in community cultural practices.”
MacKenzie is well liked and her students leave class understanding the complexity of law in areas as challenging as Native Hawaiian rights. They also realize how fluid and dynamic law can be.
As founding director of Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, MacKenzie is called upon to teach, consult and supervise outside of the classroom.
Beyond the university, she is widely recognized in the local and international communities.
The Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching is awarded by the as tribute to faculty members who exhibit an extraordinary level of subject mastery and scholarship, teaching effectiveness and creativity and personal values that benefit students. The board also awards the Regents’ Medal for and links to archives.
