Martha Shaffer receives Mewett Teaching Award

Martha Shaffer, a professor in the Faculty of Law, has been recognized with the Alan Mewett Award for Excellence in Teaching for the second time in four years.

The annual award is given to a faculty member who exhibits excellence in teaching – as selected by members of the graduating class – at the post-convocation ceremony.

Shaffer, who previously received the honour in 2021, was chosen by the Class of 2024 for her efforts to foster a caring and inclusive learning environment. She is credited with being committed to ensuring students grasped complex legal concepts and encouraging them throughout their law school journey.

Widely regarded as an inspired and dedicated instructor, Shaffer teaches criminal law, evidence law and legal methods, and has taught family law as well as courses on cultural diversity and gender issues. She writes in the areas of family and criminal law, with a focus on gender, violence against women and the use of social science evidence to inform legal reasoning. She holds law degrees from Harvard University and U of T.

“Thank you, Class of 2024, for honouring me with the Mewett Award and with the opportunity to say a few words of hail and farewell as you leave the law faculty,” Shaffer said.

“You are a remarkable group of people: smart, talented, caring and engaged. It has been a privilege to have gotten to know you during your time at U of T.”