Professor John Czarnetzky has worn multiple hats during his lifetime – student, athlete, officer, lawyer, husband, teacher. He now has a new one to add to his collection after being awarded the 2016 Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teaching Award.
(Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
John Czarnetzky poses for a photo in the Grove Wednesday afternooon.
Widely regarded as one of the most engaging professors at the University, Czarnetzky was awarded the 2016 Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teaching Award last Thursday during the 73rd annual Honors Day Convocation. Czarnetzky teaches in the University of Mississippi School of Law, which he has been a part of since 1994.
The Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teaching Award recognizes an exceptional professor each year nominated by faculty, students and alumni. The award started in 1965 and is one of the highest honors a professor can receive. It is sponsored by the family of Elsie M. Hood, the Alumni Association and the Chancellor’s Office.
“I was in the car with my dear wife when I noticed I had a message on my cellphone from the chancellor,” Czarnetzky said. “I had not met Chancellor Vitter formally, much less given him my cellphone number, so my first reaction was a bit of worry.”
Czarnetzky was shocked when Vitter informed him of the honor.
“For me, the Elsie Hood Award is the highest award the University bestows on a professor,” Czarnetzky said. “I am filled with joy and humility at the kind words of students and colleagues, and to join the outstanding group of past recipients of this honor.”
Czarnetzky attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he played football and earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He went on to be an officer in the United States Army before going to law school at the University of Virginia. After earning a degree in law, he practiced bankruptcy and commercial law in Chicago and Richmond, Virginia, before coming to Ole Miss.
Czarnetzky has taught courses in bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, secured transactions, civil procedure, business associations and international trade along with several undergraduate courses at the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College during his time at Ole Miss.
He was the first law professor to teach in the honors college and helped to establish a relationship between the honors college and the law school.
Sullivan Gonzales currently serves as the dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
“John Czarnetzky delightfully engages our students with his wit and wisdom,” Gonzales said. “His voracious appetite for fiction and his legal expertise make him the near-perfect scholar for the budding citizens of the honors college. What a pleasure it is to work with such a great human being.”
Czarnetzky serves as an advisor to the Business Law Institute, a collaboration between students and faculty that helps students to develop their skills in corporate, commercial, tax and business law.
Czarnetzky also advises the St. Thomas More society. He directed the law school’s Cambridge Summer Session for eight years. In addition, he is a legal advisor to the Holy See mission to the United Nations.
Jess Waltman is the president of the UM Law School student body. Throughout his undergraduate years and now in law school, Waltman has taken a total of six of Czarnetzky’s courses. Walkman said this is because Czarnetzky has such a gift for engaging students.
Deborah Bell currently serves as the interim dean of the law school.
“John Czarnetzky is widely regarded as one of the law school’s best teachers,” Bell said. “He is a spellbinding speaker and gifted teacher, with the added benefit of being one of the most entertaining lecturers I have ever heard. We are greatly honored to have a law professor chosen for this high recognition.”
Czarnetzky said he loves everything about teaching—from interacting with students to seeing them learn and grow.
“I love the challenge of living up to the expectations students have of a professor,” Czarnetzky said. “I love that I have the opportunity, every day, for a salary, to do what I am best suited to do.”
Ole Miss has always been a special place for Czarnetzky and his wife.
“I love that I get to practice my vocation here, at the University of Mississippi,” Czarnetzky said. “The institution which gave me my life’s calling and, incidentally, where I met my wife.”
