Retirement, new adventures await Professor Janet Moore

It’s easy for Professor Janet Moore to recount “Aha!” moments and other memories from ten years of teaching. Her semesters of lecturing, engaging students and grading exams have spanned several courses and institutions, including Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Capital Punishment Seminar, and Civil Rights Litigation.

Today, as she retires from teaching to focus on research, Professor Moore celebrates the successes, lessons, and downright funny experiences that come with teaching. These are some moments that led Moore to treasure working with students.

Many of her teaching practices come from her own interdisciplinary education, having earned a JD from Duke University School of Law, a MA in Philosophy from Duke University, and a MA from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Moore describes her teaching style as highly interactive, one that engages and challenges students but also invites them to “find the joy” in learning and practicing law. In fact, she has been known to supplement her pedagogy with music—ranging from nursery rhymes to opera to the Dixie Chicks—plus vintage film clips, current news stories, and weeds from her garden!

“I emphasize and strive to model the mutual respect, courtesy, and intellectual rigor that I expect my students to display as professionals in class and in their working lives. I teach students that the study and practice of law are not ‘from-the-neck-up’ activities and that EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) is a critical component of IQ,” she said. For Moore, it has always been important to promote critical inquiry and clear, effective communication regarding the systemic operation of law and the impact of law in the lives of real people.

But Moore also encouraged students to have fun. Her fondest memories involve co-learning with students. When a student asked an especially insightful question that forced Moore to think about doctrine from new perspectives, the student received a “Chocolate Milkshake Question” award for a free treat at a local eatery such as Potbelly’s, which served “the best milkshakes with those cute little cookies on the straw!”

Another popular teaching tool was the “Unlimited ‘Stupid’ Questions” coupon. Every student received a coupon on the first day of class. Moore encourage students to use the coupons, explaining that, in fact, there was no such thing as a “stupid” question in her classroom. “I told students that if they had a question, other people had the same question and would be glad to have it asked.” Moore also told students that if they couldn’t formulate their question in the moment, “they should just wave the coupon in the air and I would treat it as a blinking caution light—slow down, repeat, or clarify as needed.”

“Students cashed in the coupons frequently. Those exchanges were incredibly helpful in revealing how what I thought was clear wasn’t. They revealed opportunities to communicate more effectively, in more vivid ways that make information ‘stick’ in students’ memories and ‘sticky,’ or applicable in the real world.” Moore noted that every semester brought new, not-stupid questions and co-learning opportunities. “What’s clear and easy for some classes in some years will confound other classes in other years. Those changes keep one on one’s toes.”

In her 2017 Reflections on Teaching, Moore described the deep satisfaction that accompanied the hard work of helping students to master the law and grow into their professional identities. She said, “It has been among my greatest joys—and so much fun—to meet students where they are, to suss out and celebrate their individual and collective strengths, to find new and more effective ways to confront, coach, cajole, and collaborate through the life-changing exercise in intellectual, moral, and professional development that is legal education.”

While Moore is retiring from teaching, she will continue engaging with students and colleagues through research. One new project recently received the Provost’s stamp of approval: the new Justice, Law & Information Technology Institute (JLIT), which has been established as a network among UC’s School of Information Technology, the School of Criminal Justice, and the College of Law.

Moore will be one of three co-directors for the Institute along with Dr. Hazem Said, Director of the School of Information Technology, and Dr. J.C. Barnes, Interim Director of the School of Criminal Justice. The Institute will utilize scientific and evidence-based approaches to understand systematic challenges in criminal justice systems and to develop guidelines and recommendations for the advancement of just processes and effective outcomes. While the Institute will focus on the State of Ohio, its vision is national and global. Through research and education, the Institute seeks to ensure “that criminal justice resources are used as sparingly and effectively as possible to prevent and address harm through fair, equitable processes that respect human dignity, and through effective outcomes that promote community health and safety.”

Writer: Kathleen Cardwell

Photos: University of Cincinnati