Sophie Sparrow

Excellence in Teaching, 2019

UNH School of Law

Professor Sparrow is not only nationally recognized as an expert in how to best deliver legal education, she has also committed herself to inspire both her students and colleagues. In the two decades she’s spent teaching at UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, she’s worked to develop the talents of every student she teaches, helping to shape them into thoughtful, caring and competent attorneys. This year, Professor Sparrow was named associate dean for faculty research and development. In this role, she works with colleagues to develop their research and to build effective teaching and assessment practices.

No one can better speak to Professor Sparrow’s commitment to her students than those students themselves:
“Professor Sparrow is such a dynamic professor, and even took the time to meet with each of us outside of class at the start of the semester to get to know each of us individually,” says one. “Professor Sparrow is the best professor that I have had in law school, and possibly the best teacher I have ever had!” Says another, “I looked forward to Torts every day, though it wasn’t my strongest subject, and I felt that the teamwork enhanced my learning, which I did not expect at the beginning of the semester. There is no question that Professor Sparrow is great at what she does. Of all my professors, I find her the most approachable, and I trust her advice and judgment more than I trust any other professor’s.”

Professor Sparrow has consistently been at the forefront of legal education, incorporating teaching professionalism, metacognition, writing, assessment and complex collaborative learning into a variety of law courses. As a colleague from another law school commented, her work to pursue excellence in legal education has helped to put UNH Franklin Pierce “on the map.”