It’s been quite a year so far for Seth Oranburg. In April, he and his wife welcomed a baby girl, Zeeva, to their family. The professor also has been awarded tenure and, in May, Oranburg was selected by a vote of UNH Franklin Pierce students as the recipient of the law school’s Teacher of the Year award for 2023-24.
The recipient is chosen annually based on student vote from all three JD classes as well as graduate classes, who pick a teacher to be honored from the full-time faculty. For Oranburg, the teaching honor is a reflection of the time he devotes to his approach to both teaching and learning. That includes defining for his students what their learning objectives are for a particular course; using his teaching skills and expertise to reach those objectives; and creating learning experiences that are “fun, useful, or both.” The approach, Oranburg believes, motivates his students and helps him connect with them based on “what and how they learn.”
Those connections were on full display at Halloween 2023, when a group of students dressed up in Oranburg’s trademark navy blazer, light blue dress shirt, and khaki pants for the occasion. The professor was humbled by the gesture, but also turned it into a teachable moment by dressing up as a student the following week and asking students to consider whether they perceived him differently when he was not wearing his professor “costume.”
“I think this helped them approach me and relate to me, which, in turn, helps me understand and meet their needs,” Oranburg says. “It was a fortuitous event, and I’m grateful it happened that way. I think students selected me [for the teaching award] because I’m obviously an advocate for them…I endeavor to make rigorous learning meaningful. I think our students value purposeful work [and] also notice my enthusiasm for the subjects I teach and the joy we co-create through teaching and learning together.”
In addition to his work in the classroom, Oranburg is also an active participant in the law school community, a “loving place” he calls a good fit for his personality and professional goals. Oranburg not only has supported students, but has felt embraced and supported by the law school community’s inclusive nature. He has gotten involved by sponsoring student groups, championing book clubs and outings, and at times by inviting students into his home for holiday celebrations.
Oranburg joined UNH Franklin Pierce in the fall of 2022, and has taught a variety of courses, including Contracts to 1L students in both the residential and Hybrid JD program, classes in the IP curriculum, and courses in entrepreneurship and venture capital. He discovered another way to connect with students when COVID-19 forced most classrooms across the world into an online model. Oranburg remains devoted to that form of education in addition to traditional classroom teaching.
“My COVID classroom became an online place where students and I want to be together,” he says. “I felt so gratified and pleased by this ability to create community that I decided to pursue a career path where I would continue teaching online even after COVID. My desire to create connections with students both online and in person led me to UNH.”
It was also during the online period forced by the pandemic that Oranburg began to shift his approach to teaching. He stopped lecturing during class time and instead created video lectures for students to watch on their own time, freeing up class time for student-generated discussions, breakout groups, and other activities. “Meanwhile,” he adds, “I studied online pedagogy and became more deliberate and articulate about learning. Students responded by turning on their cameras, speaking up in class, and performing better on tests.”
Oranburg is known by his students for championing free speech, freedom of religion and expression, and exemplifying diversity and inclusion opportunities throughout the curriculum. That recognition means a great deal to him as he continues to advocate for and listen to his students, while remailing open and flexible in his own approach.
When reflecting on his recent teaching honor, Oranburg quotes Theodore Roosevelt: “No one cares what you know until they know that you care.”
“This year I was recognized for being an expert in teaching,” he says, “and I think that’s because my students recognized that I care about them…I moved to UNHFP so I could continue creating connections with students via both traditional methods and new technologies. Receiving the Teacher of the Year award shows me this community values my efforts. I plan to continue investing in fostering connections, because it’s a successful and rewarding way to teach.”
