The University of Georgia School of Law has been fortunate to have many professors who remain vital and engaged members of our faculty for decades, according to School of Law Dean Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge. "These professors provide the foundation for the learning environment that makes our intellectual community so special," he said.
In a few weeks, Mike Wells, the Carter Chair in Tort and Insurance Law, will retire after more than 45 years of dedicated service. To help commemorate this milestone, a few former students have chosen to honor him by endowing a new faculty support fund.
The Michael L. Wells Faculty Support Fund will assist the law school with recruiting and retaining our world-class faculty by providing support for their professional development and research initiatives.
Christy Hull, a 2000 alumna who made the lead gift, said, “In his nearly 50 years at UGA Law, Professor Wells taught foundational principles of tort law to generations of lawyers. His gentle but probing style challenged us to think harder and sharper. More than 25 years after serving as Professor Wells’ T.A., I still apply those fundamental lessons in my toxic tort defense practice. I was thrilled to contribute to the Michael L. Wells Faculty Support Fund to honor his legacy and ensure the continuation of excellent scholarship at UGA Law.”
Alongside Christy’s gift, three other former students – Alice Snedeker (J.D.’09), Catherine Curlet (J.D.’11) and Ellen Clarke (J.D.’14) – made significant contributions to help the fund achieve the endowment threshold to honor this respected torts, federal courts and constitutional litigation scholar.
Alice’s connection to Professor Wells includes serving as his research assistant and co-authoring an article with him. She said great faculty members like Professor Wells add to the value of the law school and her degree. Her participation was fueled by her desire to establish a long-term way to honor him while also helping students.
When telling people why she loved her time at UGA Law, Catherine said it was the quality and accessibility of the professors that made the experience so rich. “Professor Mike Wells is at the top of that list. I had the privilege of being a student in his torts class as a 1L and later supported him as a Teaching and Research Assistant; I cannot thank him enough for the mentorship and all I learned from him.”
Ellen said she wanted to honor Professor Wells and ensure future generations of law students benefit from the same caliber of educators. “Professor Wells exemplifies the qualities that make the faculty at the University of Georgia School of Law exceptional, and I hope this fund will help the law school continue to attract and retain outstanding professors.”
Professor Wells is the author of three books and more than 60 articles in leading journals such as the Cornell Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Virginia Law Review, William & Mary Law Review, Constitutional Commentary and Yale Journal of International Law. He is a member of the American Law Institute and, last year, he was named associate reporter for the institute's Restatement of the Law, Constitutional Torts project that will examine the law of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Over the years, his teaching portfolio has included his scholarly specialties in addition to Insurance, Constitutional Law and European Union Law. Fluent in French, Professor Wells has served as a visiting professor at the University of Lyon (III) on six occasions and as a professor at the Duke-Geneva Institute in Transactional Law. He was also a visiting scholar at the University of Aix-Marseille.
"I want to thank Christy, Alice, Catherine and Ellen who made it possible to create this fund honoring Professor Wells. If you would like to join them in contributing to this lasting tribute, please click here," Rutledge said.
"As we talk about our school redefining what it means to be a great national public law school, I want to emphasize that our faculty play a pivotal role in fulfilling our core mission of educating the next generation of legal leaders," he added. "Professors like Mike Wells – whose lessons and thought leadership remain as guiding forces long after graduation – enable our students to serve state and society with distinction. I am grateful for his more than four decades of service to our institution. Please join me in wishing him well on his impending retirement!"