Denver Law Professor Alan Chen Named University Lecturer

Congratulations to Professor Alan Chen, Sturm College of Law, the recipient of this year’s University of Denver University Lecturer award. The University Lecturer award is one of the University’s most distinguished honors, based on creative and scholarly merit, as well as recommendations of faculty and colleagues.

Chen’s expertise centers on constitutional and First Amendment law, the law of federal courts and public interest law. He has co-authored two books, “Public Interest Lawyering: A Contemporary Perspective” and “Free Speech Beyond Words: The Surprising Reach of the First Amendment.” Before entering the world of academia, Chen served as a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Chicago office, and today, he maintains an active litigation docket with high-profile civil rights cases like Oklahoma’s botched execution of Clayton Lockett by lethal injection.

Bruce Smith, dean and professor in the Sturm College of Law, called Chen a “dedicated, compassionate and expert scholar-teacher of the highest order.” He added that students have described Chen as “engaging, challenging, entertaining, approachable, and incredibly knowledgeable—in sum, an absolute jewel in DU’s faculty crown.”  

Chen and six other distinguished recipients of this year’s faculty awards will be recognized later this year at DU’s annual Faculty and Staff Awards Luncheon.

Read more about this year’s faculty award winners.