Professor Emerita Ann Burkhart passed away March 26, 2024. Nationally recognized for her real estate law expertise, she was even more revered for her teaching prowess. She impressed generations of students with her ability to demand high standards while also supplying the support and encouragement necessary to meet them. 

Burkhart was known as the “Velvet Hammer,” a nickname she embraced. “I insist on being correct,” she explained as she meticulously refined the comments she contributed to an article about her retirement in her last days. 

“She was a spectacularly good teacher, loved by her students for all the years of her teaching,” says Robert Stein ’61, Everett Fraser Professor of Law and Distinguished Global Professor. “She won the Teacher of the Year Award so many times it should probably be retired.” Burkhart received the Stanley V. Kinyon Teaching and Counseling Award five times. In 2016, she was only the third Law School faculty member to receive the University’s Graduate- Professional Award, a rare honor bestowed on no more than eight University professors each year. 

An outstanding academic 

Burkhart, the Curtis Bradbury Kellar Professor of Law before assuming emeritus status earlier this academic year, served on the faculty for 42 years. Always an outstanding academic, she earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from Purdue University and her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law. After practicing law for five years with Sidley & Austin in Chicago, and Alston & Bird in Atlanta, she decided to pursue what she referred to as the “life of the mind” and began her career in academia. Accepting what she fondly dubbed “the most wonderful job on the planet” in 1982 at Minnesota Law was not a difficult decision, she recalled. 

An accomplished scholar and teacher 

Burkhart taught classes in property law, real estate transactions, land use planning, comparative property law, and consumer protection law. She was a member of the American Law Institute and the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and a Reporter for the Uniformed Manufactured Housing Act. She was a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the American College of Mortgage Attorneys and served on the Minnesota State Bar Association Real Estate Section Executive Council. She was also author of the most widely used casebook in property law, according to Stein, who served as Law School dean from 1979 to 1994. As associate dean during his tenure, Burkhart earned his admiration for being what Stein calls “a model of both an excellent teacher and a good citizen of the University and the Law School.” 

She never tired of her field of expertise. “Real estate law has so many different aspects, and I liked the way it is constantly changing,” she said. “I was working with a lot of interesting people, which I also liked, and helping to make things happen — new buildings, new housing, new shopping malls. I was not just sitting in the library.” 

Burkhart enjoyed visiting professor stints at the UCLA College of Law, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Uppsala University College of Law in Sweden, and Christian-Albrechts University in Germany. But even more gratifying was the opportunity to help her Minnesota students launch fulfilling careers of their own. To her, they felt like one big family. “Enabling my students to go out and do good was the best part of teaching,” she said. “It always made my heart beat strong.” She was immensely proud of the students she found smart, motivated, and able to teach her so much. 

“I count myself among the thousands of students who loved Ann and were immeasurably impacted by her intellect, warmth, and kindness,” says Associate Clinical Professor Nadia Anguiano ’17. “It’s hard to adequately describe all the qualities that made her so uniquely gifted at teaching and mentoring students. I’ll never forget a few private moments I shared with her during office hours when she gave me the exact encouraging words I needed at the moment. I will always cherish having had the privilege of knowing her.” 

A cherished colleague 

Faculty colleagues, whom she deemed “the best in the country,” laud her compassion and accessibility. “She was always gracious with her time and advice and welcoming to faculty, staff, and students alike,” says Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Oren Gross, Irving Younger Professor of Law. “She was warm, funny, kind, and smart. She will be missed by all who knew her.” 

Many alumni and colleagues cite the magic that happened in her classroom. “When I talk to alumni, they mention her as their favorite teacher almost more than anyone who’s ever taught here,” says Interim Dean William McGeveran, Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett Professor of Law. “She made a real impression on multiple generations. She had a knack for being challenging and rigorous while at the same time supportive and caring.” 

Widely considered a mother hen, especially to the 1Ls who took her property class, Burkhart will not be forgotten by Peter Estall ’19, now an associate at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Minneapolis office. “I was among many who followed that 1L property class with two others in the field, not because I was particularly interested in the subject, but because of Professor Burkhart,” he says. “She’s one of the best educators I’ve ever had in my life, and I’ve had some stellar ones. She will be sorely missed.”