Smeal's Sharp Receives University's Highest Teaching Honor
Jeffery M. Sharp, Associate Professor of Business Law, has been selected to receive the Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching. The Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching recognizes excellence in teaching and student support among tenured faculty who have been employed full time for at least five years with undergraduate teaching as a major portion of their duties. Milton S. Eisenhower, brother of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower, served as president of Penn State from 1950 to 1956.
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- Jeffery M. Sharp, Associate Professor of Business Law, has been selected to receive the Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching. The Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching recognizes excellence in teaching and student support among tenured faculty who have been employed full time for at least five years with undergraduate teaching as a major portion of their duties. Milton S. Eisenhower, brother of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower, served as president of Penn State from 1950 to 1956.
Sharp came to Penn State in 1989 from the professional ranks of corporate litigation. During the well-publicized savings and loan scandals of the 1980s, one of his most important clients was the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation -- an invaluable experience that he can now call upon for the benefit of Penn State’s business law students.
Sharp’s expertise covers a broad set of topics that comprise important aspects of business law, including bankruptcy, commercial transactions, real property, environmental law and banking. Sharp has developed four upper-division courses in business law at Penn State based on his professional experience and scholarship, and he has taught thousands of students the fundamental principles of a society that simultaneously promotes prosperity and social justice.
An engaging charisma, understanding of today’s students, and natural ability to explain complex law concepts in a concise manner are hallmarks that have consistently earned Sharp high marks from students. His peers take inspiration from the level of personal and professional integrity he demonstrates, and his ability to change minds by challenging those around him to think clearly about important questions.
Sharp has been widely recognized at Penn State for his teaching style and ability. He twice won the Fred Brand, Jr. Award for Outstanding Teaching, the Smeal College’s highest undergraduate teaching award, in 1992 and 2000. He also has been named one of the “Best Professors at Penn State” by the Undergraduate Student Government Assembly and was featured in the 2000 edition of La Vie, the Penn State yearbook.
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