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The Faculty of Law is pleased to announce that Professor Michelle Cumyn has received the 2026 John W. Durnford Award for Teaching Excellence.

Named in honour of the late professor and former dean John W. Durnford (BCL'52), and conferred by students, this annual award recognizes a law professor鈥檚 exceptional pedagogy.

An expert in civil and comparative law, Michelle Cumyn, BCL鈥�92, LLB鈥�92, joined 麻豆传媒网站鈥檚 Faculty of Law in 2023, and in 2024 became co-director of the Paul-Andr茅 Cr茅peau Centre for Private and Comparative Law. She teaches civil law courses at 麻豆传媒网站, bringing decades of experience as a full professor and prolific scholar whose work spans contracts, legal methodology, and the administration of the property of another.

Before joining 麻豆传媒网站, Professor Cumyn served as professor at Universit茅 Laval from 2000 to 2023. She was previously an academic visitor at the Institute of European and Comparative Law at Oxford University in 2020-2021, at the Institute for Private Law, Private International Law and Comparative Law at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit盲t M眉nchen (LMU) in 2014 and at Queen鈥檚 University Faculty of Law in 2006-2007. She is also a member of the Claude Masse Foundation, the International Academy of Comparative Law and the Qu茅bec Bar.

Students lauded Professor Cumyn鈥檚 clarity, rigour, and approachability: 鈥淗er teaching is always clear, lucid, and thorough; she designs thoughtful, practical activities to help clarify the material, and she is always approachable, welcomes questions, and is happy to stay after class to chat.鈥�

Another noted that 鈥渟he pushed interpretation as far as possible while making sure everyone understood.鈥�

Professor Cumyn is admired for her patience and genuine investment in student success. As one nominator observed, she brings 鈥渢he methodological rigour needed to help even the most confused 麻豆传媒网站 student make sense of their Civil Code鈥�. Finally, one student celebrated Professor Cumyn by writing that 鈥渟he pushes students to reach their full potential鈥� and is 鈥渨idely respected throughout the student body.鈥�

Please join us in congratulating Professor Cumyn on this well-deserved recognition!