LAW PROFESSOR HONORED WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Nov. 11, 2003

LAW PROFESSOR HONORED WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

University of New Mexico Professor of Law Margaret Montoya was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 7th annual National Latina/o Law Student Conference held at the University of California at Los Angeles.

The first such award presented by the newly formed National Latina/o Law Student Association, it credits Montoya for "passionate support, dedication and contributions to Latino law students."

"It is so gratifying to be recognized by students who so often exhibit qualities that all of us should emulate," Montoya said. "Qualities such as resourcefulness, passion and persistence. They make my heart soar with hope for the future."

On faculty with the UNM School of Law since 1992, Montoya examines issues of race, ethnicity, gender and language, along with cross-cultural discourse. She was the first Hispanic woman accepted at Harvard Law School.

In Mexico, Boston, and Potsdam, N.Y., she worked in corporate law, legal services, and academic administration before returning home to New Mexico. She was the UNM Associate University Counsel for employment issues before joining the law faculty.

Montoya has contributed to a number of anthologies and casebooks on legal topics involving race and gender. Her areas of expertise are affirmative action and the emerging area of critical race pedagogy. Earlier this year she and a team of current and former law students filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger challenging affirmative action in admissions.

Montoya is currently interim director of the Southwest Hispanic Research Institute, established in 1980 to serve as the interdisciplinary center for the study of the Hispanic experience in the southwest.

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