Congratulations are in order for Professor Jennifer Mascott of George Mason, winner of the 2023 Joseph Story Award. This award recognizes a junior academic who has demonstrated excellence in legal scholarship, a commitment to teaching, a concern for students, and who has made a significant public impact in a manner that advances the rule of law in a free society. This award is richly deserved.
Matt Phillips, who chairs the Story Committee at the University of Chicago, provides some of the highlights of Jenn's career:
Mr. Phillips began by detailing Professor Mascott's scholarly contributions. Referencing her article "Who Are Officers of the United States?," which he called "an originalist tour de force," Mr. Philips noted that Professor Mascott's "seminal work"situated her at the "forefront of the national debate" on the separation of powers. He said Prof. Mascott is an "intellectual trailblazer" and "stalwart defender of the rule of law." He also pointed out her extensive involvement in the legal profession, including her "incredible thought leadership" as the Co-Executive Director of the Gray Center, Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and Vice Chair of the Constitutional Law and Separation of Powers Committee within the ABA's Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, as well as her "tireless public service" at the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice.
Finally, Phillips described Professor Mascott's strength as a "dedicated teacher and mentor" to her students at Scalia Law. He identified her various roles on campus, including that of faculty director of the law school's Supreme Court and Administrative Law clinics, founder of the Separation of Powers Clinic, and co-professor with two Supreme Court Justices. In the words of her students, she is a "fantastic instructor" and "wonderful person" who "models a commitment to family and takes genuine joy in her profession."
