Three Minnesota Law Alumni Receive the Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year Awards

Dean William McGeveran, William S. Pattee Professor of Law, announced the 2025 Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year Awards at the Law School's 137th commencement exercises on Saturday, May 17. Three Minnesota Law professors, who are Law School alumni, have been honored for their teaching by the class of 2025. 

Dean McGeveran said, "I also want to ensure this remarkable moment doesn’t go unnoticed. We didn’t plan it this way, but all three of our Kinyon Award winners are Law School alumni, and two are double Gophers with undergraduate degrees from the University. Clearly, those who learn from Minnesota Law faculty become great teachers themselves."

Professor Nicholas Bednar ’16 was awarded the Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year Award for tenure-track teaching. Bednar joined Minnesota Law's faculty in 2023 after completing a PhD in political Science from Vanderbilt University, where he was an affiliate of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. He teaches and writes in the areas of administrative law, executive-branch politics, immigration, and quantitative methods. Bednar received the William B. Lockhart Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Leadership, and Service at his 2016 Law School commencement.

Professor Nadia Anguiano ’17 received the Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year Award for clinical teaching. She joined the Law School faculty in 2019 as a fellow and in 2023 was hired as an associate clinical professor of law. She is the director of the Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic in the Law School's James H. Binger Center for New Americans. Her work focuses on challenges to the adverse immigration consequences of criminal convictions, challenges to unlawful immigration detention, and upholding due process rights in immigration proceedings. Anguiano serves on the Amicus Committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which was honored for excellence in immigration law litigation in 2023. She received the Law School's Excellence in Public Service Award at her 2017 commencement.

Adjunct Professor Amy Sweasy ’95 received the Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year Award for skills and practical teaching. She teaches Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Professional Responsibility, and Trial Practice at the Law School. She served in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for 27 years, most recently in the Complex Prosecution Unit. Sweasy has tried over 100 felony jury trials and uses her considerable knowledge and experience to educate Minnesota Law students on trial work and criminal law practice. 

Stanley V. Kinyon graduated from Minnesota Law in 1933 and was on the faculty for 40 years. He was a recognized scholar in commercial law and known as a friend of students, inside and outside the classroom. In his honor, his family and friends endowed the Stanley V. Kinyon Awards in Teaching.

Congratulations, Professors Bednar, Anguiano, and Sweasy!