Eric Zolt

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In just four years, Eric Zolt has established himself as one of the most brilliant teachers at the UCLA School of Law. The recipient of regular near-perfect evaluations from his students, only two years after he joined the faculty, third-year students elected him Professor of the Year. Under any circumstances, such accolades would signify exceptional achievement, but what makes Professor Zolt’s success especially remarkable is the fact that he has gained his students’ veneration while teaching taxation, a subject that usually inspires only fear and dread. It is a testament to his enthusiasm and his formidable teaching abilities that a number of his students report a complete transformation in their attitude toward the subject. He earns their commendation not with an easygoing approach to learning but with tough, demanding courses that require students to be prepared, to participate and to stretch their minds. Students emerge from his classes tested, exhilarated and grateful for having been challenged. As Professor William Warren, former dean and former recipient of a University Distinguished Teaching Award, wrote after visiting one of Professor Zolt’s classes, his is “about the best law teaching I have seen. [Zolt] is a dazzling teacher.”