
Professor Darien Shanske has been awarded the UC Hastings Foundation Faculty Award for his scholarship in the field of taxation.
Shanske’s research and writing focuses on ways to develop state and local tax systems that are more efficient and less volatile. “The federal government is forced, in times to crisis, to give states and localities large stimulus packages. It would be better to nudge states and localities to adopt more stable revenue systems to begin with,” Shanske said. “This would help stabilize state and local budgets and economies.”
Shanske joined the UC Hastings faculty five years ago, and in November 2012 was granted tenure. In addition to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy, he has a Ph.D. in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from Stanford. He clerked for Hon. Pierre N. Leval of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. “Tax is a great area to work in as a researcher, because there are endless interesting issues and puzzles. There is room for a great deal of intellectual creativity,” Shanske said.
He also adores teaching. “I can’t think of anything else I would rather be doing,” he said.
In making the award, the Foundation noted the real-world applicability of Shanske’s work. “Scholarship is at the heart of what a professor does,” said Chancellor and Dean Frank H. Wu, in recommending Shanske for the award. “We have tremendously talented junior faculty. Darien Shankse exemplifies the ideal law professor. He has a background in classics, but also in the application of theory to public policy. His ideas are influencing the development of state and local tax law, both in California and nationally.”
In addition to his other writing and teaching, Shanske is working with Professor Michael Salerno and the Hon. Joseph Grodin, former California Supreme Court Justice and professor emeritus at UC Hastings, to update Grodin’s guide to the California constitution, which remains the central reference in the field. Emeritus professors Richard Cunningham and Calvin Massey co-authored the original edition with Grodin.
The award, designed to encourage and reward faculty, is typically accompanied by an honorarium. Past winners of the UC Hastings Foundation Faculty Award include:
2012 Osagie Obasogie
2011 Chimène Keitner
2010 Hadar Aviram
2009 Heather Field
2008 Ethan Leib
2007 Evan Lee
2006 Naomi Roht-Arriaza
2005 Ascanio Piomelli
2004 Robin Feldman
2003 David Faigman
2002 Lois Weithorn
2001 Aaron Rappaport
2000 Vikram Amar
1999 Reull Schiller
1998 William Dodge
1997 Jo Carillo
1996 Ash Bhagwat