OU College of Law Professor Receives Presidential Professorship

Media Contact: 
Melissa Caperton
(405) 325-2227
mcaperton@ou.edu

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma College of Law Professor of Law Steven J. Cleveland was awarded the Thomas P. Hester Presidential Professorship at the university’s “A Tribute to the Faculty,” held on Tuesday.

“Professor Cleveland is an incredibly worthy recipient of the Thomas P. Hester Presidential Professorship,” said OU Law Dean Joseph Harroz Jr. “He not only fosters an understanding of our free enterprise system, he has a gift for making it accessible and exciting to law students. As a skilled and enthusiastic anchor of the College of Law’s corporate curriculum, he has inspired numerous OU Law graduates to pursue a professional practice in that arena.”

Presidential Professorships at OU are awarded for a four-year term. According to the selection criteria, Presidential Professors inspire their students, mentor their students in the process of research and creative scholarly activity within their discipline, and exemplify to their students (both past and present) and to their colleagues (both at OU and within their disciplines nationwide) the ideals of a scholar through their endeavors in teaching; research and creative scholarly activity; and professional and university service and public outreach.

Cleveland joined the OU Law faculty in 2002, where he teaches courses in corporate law, federal securities regulation, and mergers and acquisitions. His scholarly articles have been praised by peers, and re-printed in the Corporate Practice Commentator and the Securities Law Review.

His teaching has been commended by his students, and in 2014 he was awarded OU’s Merrick Teaching Award, which honors the faculty member who is considered most outstanding in bringing to students a better understanding and appreciation of the economic and political basis of American society.

His service to the legal community includes editorial responsibilities for The Business Lawyer, a publication of the American Bar Association.  

Prior to teaching, Cleveland served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Henry A. Politz of the 5^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He then practiced law in a Washington, D.C., law firm, where he worked on various types of business transactions, including tender offers, asset purchases, and mergers.

Cleveland earned his B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles and his J.D. from Georgetown University. While a law student, he served as executive articles editor of the Georgetown Law Journal.  

Founded in 1909, the OU College of Law is Oklahoma’s premier law school. OU Law offers small sections and class sizes that encourage a strong sense of community; accomplished faculty with international expertise; and a state-of-the-art facility equipped with the latest technology. The OU College of Law is the academic home of more than 700 students enrolled in the juris doctor program, the John B. Turner Master of Laws Program, the master of legal studies program and various dual degree programs. For more information about OU Law, visit law.ou.edu.