RALEIGH – Assistant Clinical Professor Jon Powell ‘98 is the Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law recipient of the Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award for 2025, Dean J. Rich Leonard has announced.
Powell joined Campbell Law in 2003 after a successful career in criminal defense. He is the first and only full-time director of the law school’s Restorative Justice Clinic (RJC), which was initially established as the Juvenile Justice Project in 2003 with a grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission, and was renamed the RJC in fall 2015. The project initially served Harnett, Lee and Johnston counties, where juvenile criminal cases from the local district were referred by the district attorney’s office, Department of Juvenile Justice and local schools.
In leading the law school’s oldest clinic, Powell has made an indelible mark on the law school, the lives of its graduates and the community, Leonard explained. “He has educated second- and third-year students in the Restorative Justice Clinic with compassion, grace, humor and real-life experiences,” Leonard said. “In addition to his Restorative Justice Class, Professor Powell takes on an exceptional number of students in an independent study each semester and trains them personally in upper-level restorative justice practices. Professor Powell has a remarkable gift in training future lawyers in the humanity of being a lawyer.”
Under the direction of Powell, the RJC was recognized in 2008 by the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission as one of its leading programs for “outstanding dedication and achievement in service to the community in the area of juvenile justice.” In 2011, the clinic hosted the third National Conference on Restorative Justice, bringing leading scholars, practitioners and participants from all around the world to Campbell Law. In 2024, Legal Aid of North Carolina named Powell as a recipient of its Pro Bono Hero award.
Powell brings charm and intellect into the classroom. His course evaluations for subject matter knowledge, teaching method effectiveness and commitment to students are stellar, according to Leonard. Powell’s reputation as a compassionate and engaging teacher dedicated to giving his students the opportunity to change lives is best expressed by the following student reflections reprinted from recent evaluations:
- “Jon Powell is a genius. He has prepared me better for lawyering than any other class in law school.”
- “I could not recommend JP or this course MORE. He is an incredibly intelligent man; he has opened the floodgates for change, and he truly inspires people to go into this work. He is a role model and an incredible attorney, teacher, advisor and mentor. He understands that law school isn’t the only thing in our lives, he provides us with reprieve when we were feeling overwhelmed, he listens, he adapts and he is versatile to his student’s needs.”
- “Jon Powell is by far, the strongest feature of this course. This clinic would not be the same without him. You can tell his passion for restorative justice and that comes through with all of his students, whether they find the clinical experiences resonate with them or not.”
- “He cares about our well-being and the well-being of others. He is highly respected in the field (for good reason) and always makes himself available. The clinic itself has provided me with numerous opportunities, and I feel like I am going to be a better attorney having participated in this clinic and having met Professor Powell.”
- “Professor Powell is a wonderful person and professor of law. His course was truly a life changing experience.”
Powell’s work extends well beyond the classroom. He is a respected name in the Restorative Justice community and has become a desired speaker and expert. He frequently travels to present at conferences, speak on panels and train others on Restorative Justice practices.
Each semester, he takes his students into adult prisons, juvenile facilities, schools for all ages and provides them with real-world experience in facilitated dialogues and restorative circles.
“In every facility Powell enters, he is welcomed with open arms from the juveniles and adults alike, all citing him as a man who has changed their lives and who are grinning from ear to ear to see and hug him,” Leonard said. “Professor Powell is praised as an educator who deeply cares about his students’ personal and professional lives and takes learning beyond the classroom. Professor Powell gives each one of his students the floor in his class to tell their own personal story, allowing them to feel a touch of kindness, compassion and grace in the otherwise daunting and grueling law school environment. Professor Powell’s focus on his students’ lives, success and personal development are vital qualities that make him a worthy recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Award for 2025.”
Powell’s publications include “Making Space for Good Things to Happen: A Restorative Approach to the School-to-Prison Pipeline,” 17 Fla. Coastal L. Rev. 83 (2015) and he is regularly featured in the media, including on the North Carolina Bar NCBarBlog.com, in Attorney at Law Magazine and on WHQR, among others.
Beyond the clinic, Powell is a leader in the law school, serving on a number of committees, including the Building Safety Committee, Law School Community, Diversity and Student Life Committee, and is the former chair of the Pro Bono Committee. He also helped coach a Client Counseling team to the law school’s only international title in 2019.
Powell graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in communications from North Carolina State University after more than a decade at Carolina Power & Light Co. Powell earned his J.D. from Campbell Law School in 1998. Following graduation, Powell opened his own law firm in Hamett County and practiced mainly criminal defense with an emphasis on juvenile law.
“Campbell Law is fortunate to have such an exceptional professor, colleague and friend who is committed to the lives and careers of its students,” Leonard added. “We take enormous pride in recognizing Professor Powell for his excellence in the classroom.”
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1986, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts nearly 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2026, Campbell Law will celebrate 50 years of graduating legal leaders and 17 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.