Most of us know her as a Tort Professor here at
SCU Law, but Nancy Wright is much more than that.
Once a childhood actress, this remarkable redhead
debuted on famous shows such as the I Love Lucy show, the Donna Reed Show, and
an hour-long live drama show called NBC Matinee Theater. Instead of pursuing
her acting career in Los Angeles, Nancy decided to move to the bay area where
she attended UC Berkeley and received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.
Nancy devoted nine years to Juvenile probation—six
years at Santa Clara County and three years at Alameda County. Her courtroom
experiences while a probation officer sparked a legal interest that Nancy pursued
at our very own SCU! Nancy loved her SCU experience, which was greatly enhanced
by her favorite Professor of all-time, Eric Wright. After she graduated and
years later, in 1994, the Robert Redford look alike swept Nancy off her feet
and made her Mrs. Wright!
Initially, Nancy was a Teaching Fellow teaching
legal research and writing class. In just one year, Nancy became in charge of
the program and subsequently taught Stanford’s Moot Court class and ran their
externship program.
In 1984, Nancy became what was then called Placement
Director at SCU Law School (now Director of Career Services), while simultaneously
teaching Moot Court and the Upper Division Writing Class at SCU Law School.
In 1990 Nancy was hired on the tenure track continue teaching her two classes
while directing the LARAW department. In her “spare” time, the Wrights jointly
wrote grants and got the funding to start and originally co-direct the East
San Jose Community Law Center. This year marks the fifth year Nancy has taught
Torts. She looks forward to co-teaching a Public Interest Law Practice Seminar
with her husband spring semester.
Nancy greatly enjoys waterskiing, playing tennis,
and traveling. Her more exotic adventures include travels to Tibet, Indonesia,
Thailand, and Russia. The Wrights’ near future itinerary includes visits to
Bhutan, the Galapagos Islands, and various countries in South America. Nancy
brings her worldly knowledge into the classroom by sharing her Kodak moments
of potential torts (inadequate warnings, etc.) with her 1L Tort students. In
addition to her future travels, Nancy hopes to write a novel based on the various
lives of her elementary school friends whom she still keeps in touch with.
Anybody who has been to a famous Wright Karaoke
Party can attest to the fact that Nancy probably had a career in singing as
well! Yet, Nancy continues to inspire law students by using her musical talents
to compose and perform one-hit-wonders about negligence and other tortuous topics!
On occasion, Nancy can be seen performing duos with her friend and fellow basketball
teammate, Professor Ellen Kreitzberg.
Mother of five, grandmother of (almost) three,
wife of her “greatest teacher ever,” law professor, and friend to many, Nancy
Wright is very content with life. She feels lucky to be living the life she
does and rightfully so. She exemplifies a grateful and determined woman who
did it all…and continues to enjoy her life and her profession. Most rewarded
by the connections she makes to her students, Nancy hopes that SCU law students
“believe in themselves and in their abilities” and will feel comfortable to
“look to faculty to help them achieve their goals.” With a professor like Nancy
Wright, SCU law students are in the RIGHT hands.
Article provided by The Advocate.
