Charity Scott Receives National Health Law Teaching Honor
June 9, 2006
Georgia State University College of Law Professor Charity Scott was named the recipient of the prestigious 2006 Jay Healey Distinguished Health Law Teacher Award at the National Health Law Teachers Conference held at the University of Maryland School of Law June 1-3. The award, bestowed by the Health Law Teachers section of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, salutes individuals who display a lifelong commitment to the development and teaching of health law within the legal academy.
According to College of Law Dean Steven J. Kaminshine, this is “a significant honor in recognition of Charity's work and to the growing success and reputation of the Center for Law, Health & Society.”
“Professor Scott is passionate in her belief that health law is a vehicle that brings together a host of disciplines and allows for interdisciplinary collaboration,” Dean Kaminshine said.
The award is named in honor of Joseph (Jay) M. Healey who was Professor and Head of the Division of Humanistic Studies at the University of Connecticut Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine. In his dedication of a symposium edition of the American Journal of Law and Medicine to Prof. Healey, Prof. George Annas with Boston University’s School of Public Health described Prof. Healey as ”the most respected health law teacher of his generation” and "the spiritual leader of the nation's health law teachers." Prof. Healey received the Health Law Teachers Award in 1990, and it was renamed in his memory after his death in 1993.
The award presenter, Diane Hoffman, Professor of Law and Director of the Law & Health Care Program at the University of Maryland School of Law, said the award is intended “to honor someone whose work and career has emulated much of what Jay Healey sought to do in his life time.”
“Charity Scott has worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between physicians and lawyers,” Prof. Hoffman added. “This provides opportunities for lawyers and health care professionals to work and learn together about issues at the intersection of law, health, ethics and public policy.”
Upon receiving the national honor, Prof. Scott lauded the inspiration provided by the award’s namesake. “I am deeply honored by this award from my peers,” she said. “Jay Healey has had tremendous influence on my work in health law, especially his focus on values and his talent for bringing out the best in everyone. My passion for health law teaching has been nurtured over the years by wonderful health law colleagues from across the country at this annual meeting.”
For many years, Prof. Scott has moderated the Joseph (Jay) M. Healey Forum on Health Law Teaching at the annual national health law teachers’ conference, which is sponsored by the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics.
“Most of our other sessions focus on cutting-edge research in emerging health law fields,” explained Prof. Scott. “Jay always reserved a time at the conference for the one topic that we all have in common – namely, teaching. I am privileged to be able to carry on his tradition. With excellent panelists every year to set the stage for a lively interaction with the audience, I try to raise a wide range of interesting and challenging teaching issues that we all face in our health law classrooms.”
Prof. Scott holds a joint appointment in Georgia State University’s College of Law and J. Mack Robinson College of Business in the Institute of Health Administration. She is also the Director of the Center for Law, Health & Society at the College of Law. Professor Scott teaches various courses on health care law and policy, bioethics and tort law. In 2003, she won the College of Law’s Professor of the Year award, a competitive annual award given by law students. She is also a Faculty Fellow in Health Law with Emory University’s Center for Ethics, where she joins an interdisciplinary faculty team to offer clinical ethics classes for third-year medical students.
A member of the American Law Institute, Prof. Scott currently serves on the American Bar Association’s Special Committee on Bioethics and the Law, and has served as Chair of the ABA’s Health Law Section’s Interest Group on Medical Research, Biotechnology and Clinical Ethics. She has also served as Chair of the Health Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia, and for many years was the editor of that section's biannual publication on federal and state health law developments.
Prof. Scott has given national and regional presentations on health law topics to legal and medical audiences including the American Bar Association, American Health Lawyers Association, Federal Judicial Center, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics, State Bar of Georgia, Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys and the Health Care Ethics Consortium of Georgia. She has published on a variety of health law issues including antitrust and the health care field, medical ethics and the law, medical privacy and health policy. Prof. Scott earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1979 (cum laude), and her B.A. with honors from Stanford University in 1973 (Phi Beta Kappa).
The Center for Law, Health & Society at Georgia State University’s College of Law advances the key role law plays in promoting the health of individuals, families and communities. The Center offers strong educational programs, research and community outreach initiatives to meet society’s many critical challenges to ensuring high quality health care.