Associate Dean of Students and Professor of Law, Allen Rostron, has been named the recipient of the 2017 Missouri Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award is presented to a single outstanding faculty member at each participating Missouri college or university. The award, not monetary, is based on effective teaching and advising, service to the university community, commitment to high standards of excellence, and success in nurturing student achievement. Faculty colleagues, departments, schools, and/or recognized campus organizations submit nominations for the award. View past winners of this award and others.
In 2016, Rostron also received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Rostron joined the faculty in 2003 and teaches and writes in the areas of constitutional law, tort law, products liability, and conflict of laws. Before becoming a professor, Rostron worked in Washington, D.C. as a Senior Staff Attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, where he was part of a nationwide litigation effort that included lawsuits brought against gun manufacturers by several dozen major cities and counties. Rostron began his career working as a law clerk for Judge Thomas S. Ellis III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and then as a litigation associate at the Cravath Swaine & Moore law firm in New York City.
Rostron’s research and writing has had a significant impact on several areas of law. The Supreme Court of Wisconsin relied on one of his articles in a decision in which it became the first court in the nation to impose proportional or “market share” liability on manufacturers of lead paint. In another article, Rostron suggested a new approach to regulation of high-powered sniper rifles, and that approach was subsequently enacted into law in the District of Columbia and incorporated into proposed federal legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate.
We congratulate Dean Rostron on this accomplishment and know it is well-deserved.