Faculty of Law Celebrates 2025 Teaching Award winners
The Faculty of Law congratulates Dr. Amar Khoday and Ms. Allison Fenske, recipients of the Faculty’s two top teaching awards given annually to recognize one professor and one practicing professional instructor. Khoday is the recipient of The Barney Sneiderman Award for Teaching Excellence and Fenske was chosen for the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. The winners were announced at the June 7th Faculty of Law graduation dinner.
“The Faculty of Law is fortunate to have many excellent law professors and practicing professionals; it is never easy to choose amongst them,” said Dr. Jennifer L. Schulz, chair of the teaching awards selection committee. “This year, Dr. Khoday and Ms. Fenske unanimously rose to the top. The selection committee was so impressed with both of their teaching prowess, dedication to students – in and outside of the classroom – and genuine love of teaching. They are truly very deserving recipients of their respective awards.”
Barney Sneiderman Award
The Barney Sneiderman Award honours a late beloved faculty member who taught Manitoba law students from 1969 until the year of his passing in 2006. Friends and family remember Barney as being eternally curious, confidently irreverent, and passionately interested in connecting with people from all walks of life. He was a devoted educator, in the classroom and beyond, through his writing (of academic texts and op-eds) and his speaking (on the radio and at conferences). He was a devoted husband and father to his wife and three children as well as an ardent educator. He strove for excellence in all he did and would be delighted to know that an award to recognize excellence in teaching was created in his name to foster the dedicated teachers who have followed his example with a love of learning.
Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of Law, presents Dr. Amar Khoday with the 2025 Barney Sneiderman Award for Teaching Excellence.
Dr. Khoday joined the faculty in 2012 and is an associate editor and regular contributor to the Criminal Reports published by Thomson Reuters and is a co-author of the National Judicial Institute’s Criminal Essentials eLetter.
He earned his JD from the New England School of Law in Boston, and his LLM and Doctor of Civil Law from McGill University in Montreal.
He has won awards for both his teaching and research including the prestigious Terry G. Falconer Memorial Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Award in the Humanities in 2021, and he previously won the Barney Sneiderman Award in 2020.
“I am tremendously honoured to have received this award again. This is in part due to the immense esteem many graduates and colleagues hold Barney Sneiderman,” said Khoday. “It is also gratifying that my approaches to teaching and excitement about the topics I address, resonate strongly for various people. Thank you to those who nominated me. Lastly, it is a privilege working in a faculty with so many colleagues who are thoughtful and devoted to their teaching.”
Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence for Sessional Instructors (Practising Professionals)
This award is given in recognition of professional commitment beyond the call of duty to the student experience, innovative teaching methods, development of instructional materials, coaching of students in competitions, or contributions to student development outside the classroom.
Dr. Richard Jochelson presents Allison Fenske with the 2025 Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Allison Fenske joined the Faculty of Law in 2023 as Clinical Counsel.
Caption: Dr. Richard Jochelson presents Allison Fenske with the 2025 Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.Allison Fenske joined the Faculty of Law in 2023 as Clinical Counsel.
She is a member of the clinical practice team which includes acting as Director of the University of Manitoba Community Law Centre – a long-standing partnership with Legal Aid Manitoba providing law students with the opportunity to represent individuals who would not otherwise receive legal aid. She is also part of leading the newly formed International Human Rights Clinic. Allison has taught courses at the Faculty of Law as a sessional instructor.
Allison obtained her LLB from the University of Manitoba in 2007 and since then, her legal practice has primarily focused on human rights, administrative and constitutional law, navigating legal issues through a lens of social inclusion and advancing the rights of people and communities marginalized through state and systemic oppression.
Allison was also recognized this year at the University of Manitoba’s Student Teacher Recognition Reception (STRR) when Cody Buhay (3L) chose her as the educator who made the most impact on his post-secondary career.
“One of the Faculty’s greatest strengths is its innovative approach to experiential learning,” said Fenske. “It’s a privilege to support and empower students as they move from theory to practice, developing their legal skills and cultivating a commitment to access to justice. I am beyond honoured to receive this award, but the real reward is being a part of students’ learning journeys as they grow into formidable advocates.”