2019 Recipients of the CLYDE O. MARTZ TEACHING AWARD

The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Announces the 2019 Recipients of the CLYDE O. MARTZ TEACHING AWARD

K.K. DUVIVIER, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER STURM COLLEGE OF LAW

JAMES R. RASBAND, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY J. REUBEN CLARK LAW SCHOOL

A primary mission of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation is to promote the teaching of the law of oil and gas, mining, water, public lands, energy, environmental protection, international, and other related areas of natural resources law. The greatest source of encouragement of knowledge of the law of natural resources development is through inspiration instilled by professors and other teachers of natural resources law.

Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award

Clyde O. Martz, the eighth president of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, was a teacher whose casebook pioneered the teaching of the law of natural resources development as a whole, and who made many other contributions to the growth and stature of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and the study of the law of natural resources development, including the editing of the first edition of the American Law of Mining. In 1993 the Trustees of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation established the Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award to honor those who have performed meritorious teaching in natural resources law or development to students either in a classroom setting or at courses sponsored by the Foundation or other not-for-profit organizations. Excellence in teaching performance is the primary criterion for the award, and consideration is given to the fostering of a broad understanding of the law, mentoring of students, and innovative style.

The Trustees of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation are pleased to announce that the 2019 recipients of the Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award are K.K. DuVivier and James R. Rasband.

K.K. DuVivier

After practicing natural resources law with two Denver firms and working as an Assistant City Attorney, K.K. DuVivier joined the full-time faculty at the University of Denver in 1990. She has received a number of accolades for her teaching and scholarship at the University of Denver, including AALS DU Teacher of the Year, Mentorship Award, Hughes-Ruud Research Professor, and the Sturm Faculty Excellence Award for “Best Professor.” Professor DuVivier has served as the Director of the University of Denver’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program and taught Energy Law, Renewable Energy Law, Civil Procedure, Mining Law, and Environmental Law. She also has taught energy and renewable energy courses as a visiting professor at Lewis and Clark Law School and at the University of Houston Law Center.

Professor DuVivier is the author of two books, THE RENEWABLE ENERGY READER (2011), and ENERGY LAW BASICS (Carolina 2017). She has served as a Trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, the Chair of the Association of American Law Schools Natural Resources and Energy Section, Vice-Chair of the Renewable, Alternative, and Distributed Energy Resources Committee of the Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) Section of the American Bar Association (ABA), and Vice-Chair of the Hard Minerals Committee of the SEER Section of the ABA. She continues to present in numerous national and international forums and has published over one hundred articles in bar journals and law reviews.

James R. Rasband

James R. Rasband joined the Brigham Young University (BYU) J. Reuben Clark Law School faculty in 1995. During his 25 years at BYU, Professor Rasband has been a renowned teacher, mentor, administrator, and leader, known by students and peers alike for his thoughtfulness, insight, and intellect. He has taught courses in water law, wildlife law, public lands and natural resources law, and international environmental law. His teaching awards have included BYU Law’s First Year Class Teacher of the Year and Teacher of the Year, Phi Alpha Delta, and his teaching evaluations have consistently been exceptional. He has also published many articles and book chapters on natural resources law. He is a coauthor, with James Salzman, Mark Squillace, and Sam Kalen, of NATURAL RESOURCES LAW AND POLICY (3d ed., 2016) and prior editions, an important casebook in the field.

Professor Rasband’s accomplishments in teaching and scholarship are all the more impressive given his overlapping administrative duties, first as the Associate Academic Vice President for Faculty for the University and the Associate Dean for Research and Academic Affairs at the Law School, and then as Dean of the Law School from 2009 – 2016.   Most recently, he was the Academic Vice President for the entire University. He served as a Trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation for 23 years, and also served on its Board of Directors and on numerous committees, and was Chair of the Natural Resources Law Teachers Institute and Public Lands Chair of the 53rd Annual Institute. In April, Professor Rasband was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.