Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 5, 1 May 2014 — Teaching excellence award [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Teaching excellence award

University of Hawai'i law professor D. Kapua'ala Sproat was to be honored April 30 with a 2013 Board of Regents'

Excellence in Teaching Award, the university's highest teaching accolade. In her nomination letter, Eaw School Dean Avi Soifer said Sproat "stands out as

extraordinary. Her success in conveying intricate information to law students, experts, community members and just about anybody else simply is unparalleled in my experience in

legal education." Sproat joined the William S. Richardson School of Eaw in 2007 and is an integral part of the school's Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law and its Environmental Law Program. "Her classes are exceedingly popular with students, because she combines theory and practice with a deep knowledge of plaee, in a way that few ean match," said Director David Forman, who called Sproat "a critical partner" in the program's success. Sproat, whose expertise ranges from Native Hawaiian law and indigenous rights to natural resource management, has a special interest in water law. She was an attorney in the Nā Wai 'Ehā case whieh OHA was a party to. A recent settlement called for the restoration of some 13 million gallons of water to two streams in Central Maui. (Please see story on page 4).

D. Kapua'ala Sproat