Professor Hart Receives Award from Hispanic Bar Association

January 31, 2009

The Colorado Hispanic Bar Association awarded Professor Melissa Hart their Outstanding Community Service Award for 2008 at the CHBA Annual Banquet tonight. The award recognizes its recipient's contributions to the state of Colorado, its Bar, and in particular, to the members of the Hispanic Bar. Professor Hart received the award because of her work on preserving equal opportunity in Colorado, particularly her effort on the Amendment 46 question last election season.

She was compelled to get involved in the equal opportunity issue because her scholarship focuses on addressing the persistent problems of stereotyping and bias which research reveals can only be solved through conscious, affirmative efforts to avoid that bias. As a law professor who sees so many of her own former students already making significant contributions to the State and to the legal profession, it reinforces for her how essential it is that Colorado continues to ensure that the community of law students in the state is one of inclusiveness and excellence. Governor Ritter and Senator Bennett also spoke at the banquet.