artha Minow, the 300th Anniversary University Professor at Harvard and former dean of Harvard Law School, received a prestigious 2025 Burton Award, The Hon. Robert A Katzmann Award for Academic Excellence, for her exemplary law career and her eight-year deanship at Harvard Law School.
Honoring a person of prodigious achievement and humanity, the award — named in honor of Robert A. Katzmann, a federal judge who served for 22 years on the Second Circuit, including as chief judge — is presented annually to a law school dean or professor who has brought added prominence and recognition to their academic institution.
On May 19, Minow was honored at a gala event at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., with American broadcast journalist Ted Koppel serving as master of ceremonies. The program also included a performance by 16-time Grammy Award-winning composer and producer David Foster and Broadway star Katharine McPhee. This year marks the 26th anniversary of the Burton Award Program.
A faculty member at Harvard Law School since 1981 and its dean from 2009 to 2017, Minow teaches courses on topics such as constitutional law, international criminal law, and comparative AI governance. Her expertise spans from constitutional law, human rights, and legal responses to social and political conflict.
Minow has authored numerous influential books, including “Saving the News: Why the Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve the Freedom of Speech” (2021) and “When Should Law Forgive?” (2019).
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