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Melanie R.B. Morris, Raritan Valley Community College Professor of Business Law, has been awarded the second annual Fulltime Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for 2024-2025.

Sharing the reasons that Professor Morris received the award, Dr. Karen H. Bearce, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, said: “The committee felt that your nomination showcased the hard work that underpins the characteristics of this award, including excellence in instruction, outstanding mentorship and advisement to students, and inspiring student success. Your dedication has clearly made a positive impact on many students’ and colleagues’ lives here at RVCC.”

“As one nominator wrote about her: ‘Professor Morris has dedicated her career trying to make her 100% text-based discipline feel like the laboratory experience she enjoyed as a science undergraduate. Her passion for active learning and engagement is evident in every aspect of her teaching. She exemplifies excellence in instruction, innovation in pedagogy, and an unwavering commitment to student achievement.’”

Professor Morris has been a member of the RVCC faculty for 20 years and is an attorney licensed in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. With an undergraduate degree from SUNY Albany, she holds a Juris Doctorate and a Master’s in Business Administration from Temple University.

A pioneer in the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) at RVCC, Professor Morris is deeply committed to access and affordability in education. She is an author of the interactive Business Law textbook currently used in her courses. Designed with student engagement in mind, the text includes study aids, an interactive glossary, self-grading practice questions and matching exercises, and even incorporates student-produced videos to reinforce key concepts. Her OER initiative has eliminated textbook costs for students for nearly a decade, generating over $400,000 in savings to date.

In the classroom, Professor Morris brings creativity and flexibility to legal education. She uses dynamic, hands-on approaches such as role-playing legal scenarios through classroom plays, inviting students to actively analyze legal situations and fostering practical problem-solving skills. She also offers a range of semester project options—from video production to service learning—designed to reflect diverse learning styles and promote student choice. In her online courses, students engage with custom-created videos and apply legal principles to their own experiences, such as analyzing the enforceability of their most recent contracts, making business law both practical and relevant. Artificial intelligence is incorporated into all courses in ways that promote critical thinking and encourage the ethical use of emerging technology.

Professor Morris has previously been recognized with the Instructional Technology Council’s Outstanding eLearning Faculty Award (2016) and the Innovative Teaching Award at the Conference on Teaching and Learning (2008). She is also an enthusiastic mentor for honors option students and those considering law school.

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April 17, 2025

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383