UK Law Professor Joshua A. Douglas Receives Duncan Teaching Award

Joshua A. Douglas, Thomas P. Lewis Professor of Law, is the recipient of the 2019 Duncan Teaching Award at the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Every year, a UK Law faculty member is recognized for excellence in the classroom, courtesy of the Robert M. and Joanne K. Duncan Faculty Improvement Fund, which was established in 1982 to promote outstanding teaching performance at the college. Recipients are selected by the dean with emphasis placed on student evaluations.

“Josh is dedicated to his teaching,” said Mary J. Davis, interim dean of UK Law and Ashland-Spears Distinguished Research Professor of Law. “He challenges his students and makes time for them, and they appreciate these qualities. He works hard to continue to excel at teaching and his student evaluations bear this out.”

Douglas specializes in election law, voting rights, constitutional law, civil procedure and judicial decision-making. He teaches Election Law, Constitutional Law II, Civil Procedure I and Supreme Court Decision Making.

“He regularly gives his students the opportunity to do outside-of-class written work, particularly in the first year, which impresses me,” Davis said. “And he spends the time to review and critique it.”

In addition, Douglas, assists students outside the classroom through the Judicial Clerkship Advisory Group, which he created. Douglas is also founder and initial chair of the Association of American Law Schools’ Section on Election Law.

“His work with the Election Law Society is also evidence of his passion for being a great teacher and supporter of our students, in and out of the classroom,” Davis said.

The Election Law Society consists of current UK Law students, and Douglas serves as the faculty advisor.

Douglas is the author of Vote for US: How to Take Back our Elections and Change the Future of Voting, which was published earlier this year. He has published in top journals, including The Georgetown Law Journal, University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online, Vanderbilt Law Review, Washington University Law Review, William & Mary Law Review, Indiana Law Journal and the Election Law Journal. His article Procedural Fairness in Election Contests was a winner of the 2011-2012 SEALS Call for Papers.

Douglas is co-author of an Election Law case book (Aspen Publishers 2014) and co-editor of Election Law Stories (Foundation Press 2016). Douglas’ media commentaries have appeared in newspapers across the country, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and USA Today, and he appeared live on CNN on Election Day 2016.

Prior to joining UK, Douglas clerked for the Honorable Edward C. Prado of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and practiced litigation at the law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. Douglas earned his J.D. from George Washington University Law School.