Melanie Adrian
Law professor Melanie Adrian was the recipient of a 2014 New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for her use of popular culture to enrich student participation in the classroom.
An anthropologist by training, Melanie takes a unique and often hands-on approach to teaching in the Department of Law and Legal Studies. She says she tries to help students, especially intimidated or nervous first-years, connect to the material. One way is through working rap and hip-hop music into the lecture and relating it to the theme of that day’s class.
In 2019, Melanie was appointed as an inaugural Carleton University Chair in Teaching Innovation. This three-year appointment will provide her with an opportunity to develop an experiential learning conference to help students build advocacy skills and also to reflect on how Carleton’s core mission translates to the classroom in a way that makes sense for students pursuing their dreams and professional ambitions.
In 2021, Adrian received the prestigious Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) Teaching Award, the highest honour an educator can receive in the province.