Skip to main contentSkip to footer content

Spotlight on MCL

 

5 shield logo

MCL Distinguished Faculty Dinner 2023

 

 

Distinguished Honorees

Our law school would not exist if it wasn’t for the dedicated efforts of our law faculty. Many of them have served our students and community for decades, receiving only a modest honorarium for their distinguished service. In recognition of the 50th Anniversary of MCL and the dedication, loyalty, and service of our law faculty, the MCL Board of Trustees has elected to honor the law school’s inaugural class of “Distinguished Professors of Law” and “Distinguished Professors of Law Emeritus”. The Board of Trustees has granted the honor of Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus to Professors Ron Granberg and Michael Stamp and the honor of Distinguished Professor of Law to Professors Kathy Stoner, Mickey Welsh, Joel Franklin, and Bill Monning.

 

Professor Ron Granberg is a member of the first MCL graduating class. He taught Legal Research and Writing at MCL for 37 years until retiring three years ago. Professor Granberg has single-handedly hired more MCL graduates and legal interns than any other law firm in Monterey County. His professional service and recognition includes:

  • National Executive Committee of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and Past President of its Northern California Chapter
  • Past President of the California Association of Certified Family Law Specialists
  • Past President of the Monterey County Bar Association
  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers of Northern California
  • Author of California Legal Research (5th Edition)

Dean Joel Franklin and Professor Michael Stamp were the Founding Directors of the MCL Heisler Moot Court more than 35 years ago and served as co-directors of the Heisler Moot Court for almost three decades. Dean Franklin continues in this role in addition to having served as the fourth Dean of MCL and serving as the law school’s Dean of Academic Standards for the past 15 years. Professor Stamp retired several years ago after teaching Constitutional Law for more than two decades. Their professional service and recognition includes:

  • Dean Franklin is recipient of the Chief Justice Phil Gibson Award for Outstanding Community Service
  • Professor Stamp is recipient of both the prestigious Fenton and Gibson Awards awarded by the Monterey County Bar Association

Professor Bill Monning is the Founding Director of MCL’s Mandell Gisnet Center for Conflict Management. He served in this role until he was elected to represent the region as, initially, our California Assemblyman and, subsequently, our State Senator, rising to the position of California Senate Majority Leader. Throughout his tenure in the legislature, Professor Monning returned to the Mandell Gisnet Center on a regular basis to teach mediation programs for students and community members. Upon completing his tenure in the legislature, he has returned to the law school as a professor and mediation trainer. His professional service and recognition includes:

  • Former Attorney for United Farmworkers of America
  • Directing Attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance
  • Director of the Salvadoran Medical Relief Fund and Executive Director for the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
  • Along with his wife, Dr. Dana Kent, the recent recipient of the Center for Community Advocacy Award for a lifetime of service to farmworkers and their families
  • Named 2012 California Legislator of the Year by the California Public Health Association

Dean Joel Franklin and Professor Michael Stamp were the Founding Directors of the MCL Heisler Moot Court more than 35 years ago and served as co-directors of the Heisler Moot Court for almost three decades. Dean Franklin continues in this role in addition to having served as the fourth Dean of MCL and serving as the law school’s Dean of Academic Standards for the past 15 years. Professor Stamp retired several years ago after teaching Constitutional Law for more than two decades. Their professional service and recognition includes:

  • Dean Franklin is recipient of the Chief Justice Phil Gibson Award for Outstanding Community Service
  • Professor Stamp is recipient of both the prestigious Fenton and Gibson Awards awarded by the Monterey County Bar Association

Professor Kathy Stoner is a member of the first MCL graduating class. She has taught Family Law and Community Property for more than three decades at MCL. She previously served as Chair of the MCL Board of Trustees. Her professional service and recognition includes:

  • Currently serves as Commissioner for the Monterey Superior Court
  • Certified as a California Family Law Specialist
  • Recipient of the Chief Justice Phil Gibson Award for Outstanding Community Service
  • Recipient of the Spirit of Continuing Education of the Bar Award

Professor Mickey Welsh is a member of the first MCL graduating class. She has taught Constitutional Law for more than three decades at MCL and served for multiple terms as President of the MCL Faculty Senate. Her professional service and recognition includes:

  • Past Chair of the Monterey County ACLU and Monterey County Women Lawyers
  • Recipient of the ACLU Lola Hanzel Courageous Advocacy Award
  • Recipient of the Chief Justice Phil Gibson Award for Outstanding Community Service
  • Recipient of the Outstanding Woman Award from the Monterey County Commission on the Status of Women, the Baha’i Human Rights Award from the United Nations Association, the HIV Community Action Award from the Monterey County AIDS Project, and the Francis Heisler Award from the ACLU Monterey County Chapter