Baylor University Recognizes Professor Jessica Asbridge for Outstanding Teaching Among Tenure-Track Faculty
Associate Professor of Law Jessica Asbridge has been honored by Baylor University with its 2023-2024 Award for Outstanding Teaching Among Tenure-Track Faculty. Every year, Baylor University honors 12 distinguished faculty members with its prestigious Outstanding Faculty Awards. These awards celebrate professors who exhibit exemplary teaching capabilities, demonstrate outstanding research achievement, contribute effectively to service to Baylor, engage meaningfully with students, and actively participate in civic and church endeavors. This recognition is particularly noteworthy as it originates from recipients’ colleagues.
“Jessica’s dedication to academic excellence and genuine concern for our students embody key values at Baylor Law. Students are our first priority, and they and faculty colleagues hold Professor Asbridge in high regard. Her passion for teaching, as well as her groundbreaking research and dedication to service, exemplify the Baylor Law spirit. Jessica unquestionably deserves this honor, and we are immensely proud that the University has recognized how outstanding she is,” remarked interim Dean Patricia Wilson upon hearing of Professor Asbridge’s honor.
Professor Asbridge, who joined the Baylor faculty in the fall of 2020, has made significant contributions to the legal field, particularly in the areas of property law and administrative law. Her scholarship explores the constitutional limits of government power concerning private property rights and the imposition of economic sanctions, focusing on the Takings Clause and the Excessive Fines Clause. In doing so, she seeks to preserve the constitutional rights of those with limited financial and political power and ensure that those rights are not disregarded merely for efficiency’s sake.
Professor Asbridge actively engages with students both inside and outside the classroom. She regularly advises students on the Baylor Law Review as they are writing their articles. In addition, Jessica has successfully mentored multiple students through the highly competitive federal court clerkship application process, first encouraging them to apply, highlighting the benefits of a clerkship based on her experience, and writing letters of recommendation to support their applications. Her support of these students, in collaboration with the Law School’s Career Development Office and other faculty members, contributed to Baylor Law’s recognition in 2023 as one of the top 15 law schools for federal clerkships, with 10% of Baylor Law graduates landing these positions. Professor Asbridge further serves as the faculty advisor for multiple student organizations, including PALS (Parents Attending Law School) and HEAL, a student organization dedicated to advocating for victims of domestic and sexual abuse.
Before her academic career, Professor Asbridge clerked with the Honorable Frank M. Hull and the Honorable Peter T. Fay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She also worked as a staff attorney in the Eleventh Circuit’s Staff Attorney’s Office and as an attorney at FordHarrison LLP in Atlanta, Georgia.
Professor Asbridge’s commitment to community service is equally commendable. Among the many ministries and organizations in which Asbridge participates, she has contributed her time and expertise to CASA, advocating for children in foster care, and Tapestri, which is dedicated to aiding survivors of human trafficking.
Professor Asbridge joins a distinguished list of former and present Baylor Law professors who have also been honored as Outstanding Faculty by Baylor University:
1990, David Guinn, Tenured Teaching
1994, Ron Beal, Tenured Scholarship
1997, Mike Morrison, Tenured Teaching
2000, Tom Featherston, Tenured Teaching
2000, Larry Bates, Tenure-Track Teaching
2001, Melissa Essary, Tenured Teaching
2002, Brian Serr, Tenured Teaching
2003, Jerry Powell, Tenured Teaching
2004, Matt Cordon, Tenure-Track Scholarship
2005, Bill Underwood, Tenured Teaching
2006, Beth Miller, Tenured Scholarship
2007, Jeremy Counseller, Tenure-Track Teaching
2009, Rory Ryan, Tenure-Track Scholarship
2009, Jim Underwood, Tenure-Track Teaching
2010, Bridget Fuselier, Tenure-Track Scholarship
2012, Jim Wren, Tenure-Track Teaching
2013, Luke Meier, Tenure-Track Scholarship
2014, Mike Rogers, Contributions to the Academic Community
2015, Larry Bates, Tenured Teaching
2016, Pat Wilson, Contributions to the Academic Community
2019, Matt Cordon, Tenured Teaching
2021, Jeremy Counseller, Tenured Teaching
2024, Jessica Asbridge, Tenure-Track Teaching
Along with this Outstanding Teaching Among Tenure-Track Faculty award, Asbridge will receive a citation and an honorarium of $2,500.
