Grey named Matheson Fellow

Professor Betsy J. Grey has been named the Alan A. Matheson Fellow, for a beloved longtime professor and emeritus dean at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Grey, who joined the law school faculty in 1988, is a faculty fellow in the law school’s Center for Law, Science & Innovation. She publishes and teaches on issues of tort law, products liability and mass tort litigation, as well as neuroscience and law. She also has taught products liability as part of a common law program to law students in France and Italy.

Grey’s recent scholarly work has focused on the study of no-fault compensation systems in the United States, as well as the impact of advancements in neuroscience on tort law. Her recent publications appear in the Harvard Journal on Legislation and the Oxford University Press.

Alan Matheson arrived at the College of Law in 1967 to serve on the founding faculty and as associate dean. He teaches in the areas of constitutional law and community property, and has been Dean or Interim Dean five times since 1972.

Matheson called Grey “an outstanding legal educator and a wonderful human being.
She is an intelligent, articulate, and respected scholar and teacher, she has the loyal support of faculty, staff and students, she has successfully carried the school’s faculty recruitment effort for years and, importantly, she is a delightful person to know. I am thrilled with her selection, as are others at the College of Law.”

Professor Michael Berch, the Emeritus Alan A. Matheson Professor of Law at the College of Law, said Grey is deserving of the Matheson Fellowship.

“For 23 years, she has worked tirelessly to advance the mission of the College of Law in scholarly endeavors, teaching and service,” said Berch, a professor since 1969. “Many of her accomplishments in the service area have been below the radar, so I am particularly pleased that they have been formally recognized. As with Alan Matheson, she truly exemplifies what is the best at the College of Law.”

Grey said she was surprised and deeply honored to receive the recognition.

“I am particularly honored because it is in the name of Alan Matheson, who has always been a model in his dedication to the law school, selflessly devoting himself to the needs of the institution,” she said. “He is a beloved teacher, and in his leadership roles at the school he has always demonstrated the utmost integrity, wisdom, judgment and compassion. I strive to live up to his example.”

Grey’s service to the law school is extensive. She has chaired or served on the Faculty Appointments Committee, Dean’s Advisory Committee, Advisory Personnel Committee, Admissions Committee and the Curriculum Committee, among others. Grey is a member of the Professional Editorial Board for Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science, and Technology, and has been faculty adviser to the Women Law Students’ Association and the National Lawyers Guild.

Before joining the faculty, Grey was a commercial litigator at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Shea & Gardner, and a trial attorney for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice through the Honors Program. A graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and former articles editor of the Georgetown Law Journal, she clerked for Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr. of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Janie Magruder, janie.magruder@asu.edu
Office of Communications, College of Law
480-727-9052