April 9, 1999
John C. Peck and Dennis D. Prater were recognized by both students and faculty for this professorship. "They are not only outstanding classroom teachers but also advisers and mentors to students," said Michael H. Hoeflich, law school dean. "Both are models of professionalism."
Peck, a member of the KU law faculty since 1978 and a KU law school alumnus, is an authority on Kansas water law. He teaches water, property and family law and has published several articles on Kansas water rights. He also has received the law school's Moreau and Immel awards and was a Robert A. Schroeder teaching fellow.
Prater, also a graduate of the KU law school, returned to KU in 1976 as a supervising attorney in the Legal Aid Clinic while practicing law privately in Lawrence. He joined the faculty in 1985 and became the director of the clinic. Since leaving the clinic to teach full time, Prater has also received the law school's Moreau and Immel awards and is a Robert A. Schroeder teaching fellow. In 1998, he received a William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence.
The Connell distinguished teaching professor in Kansas law was established by Mary and O.J. Connell Jr. of El Dorado. O.J. Connell is a 1938 graduate of the KU School of Law. Their son, Tim, is a 1978 law graduate and currently serves as president of the board of governors of the KU Law Society.