FACULTY FOCUS :: NEWS
Babbe, Donald Share 2017 Rutter Award Faculty members David Babbe ’81 and Skye Donald first collaborated in private practice at Morrison & Foerster, and then as instructors in UCLA Law’s experiential skills courses. In March 2017, the two were paired one last time as they were awarded the 2017 Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching. Babbe, the former managing partner of Morrison & Foerster’s Los Angeles office and chair of the firm’s David Babbe L.A. litigation practice, teaches Trial Advocacy and Negotiation, and he has served as a mentor for UCLA Law’s award-winning moot court team. Donald taught first-year Lawyering Skills and upper-level clinical courses at UCLA Law for seven years before losing her battle with brain cancer in October 2016 (See remembrance, page 91). The award, founded by famed law-guide publisher William Rutter in 1979, honors professors who best serve law students at five top California law schools. At the award ceremony at UCLA Law, Rutter’s son, Paul Rutter ’78, a member of the UCLA Law board of advisors, said his father created the award because “he really appreciated the pure art of teaching.”
Babbe was joined at the ceremony by his wife, Edie, whom he credited with pulling him through law school and then legal practice. “It’s overwhelming and humbling to receive this award,” he said. “It’s like admiring the Dodgers as a kid and then growing up to play on the team and then in the World Series.” Donald — whose husband, Skye Donald Rafael Jimenez, and other family and friends joined in the celebration — was remembered as a smart, savvy and funny mentor. A sample student evaluation about Donald states, “Not only is she an expert in legal research and writing and a very gifted teacher, she is also a very supportive, hilarious, and genuinely empathetic human being. We are all completely devoted to her.” In Donald’s honor, UCLA Law has established the Skye Donald Memorial Fund and the Skye Donald Spirit of Community Award to recognize students who exemplify her dedication to the law and service.
Tolbert Wins UCLA Inclusion Award Tony Tolbert, UCLA Law’s Director of Learning Environment and Academic Affairs, was named the recipient of the 2017 UCLA Faculty Student Development Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award. The award, given by the UCLA Academic Senate and its Committee on Diversity and Equal Opportunity, goes to students, staff and faculty in recognition of their “contributions to furthering a diverse, impartial, and inclusive environment at UCLA.” Tolbert, who has received several honors from UCLA and community groups for his leadership in diversity and other initiatives, engages with individual law students, student organizations, staff and faculty to ensure that UCLA Law provides a welcoming and supportive environment for all students.
Tolbert spent 14 years co-directing the law school’s Academic Outreach & Development Program, which prepares high-potential undergraduate students and college graduates from diverse backgrounds for careers in law. In his current role, he leads the school’s efforts to provide training on cultural competence and awareness; directs the Tony Tolbert school’s Street Law program, in which UCLA Law students teach law-related topics at local high schools; and offers training in restorative justice, a non-adversarial form of conflict resolution.
FALL 2017 | UCLA LAW MAGAZINE 27