A Valparaiso University School of Law professor was among three professors and four members of Congress honored with the Champion of Consumer Rights Award by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Tuesday.

Professor Alan White, a nationally known expert on mortgage foreclosure issues, received the award for his advocacy on behalf of consumers who have been victims of predatory lending and are at risk for losing their homes due to foreclosure or are already in foreclosure.

He has organized and participated in conferences at the law school regarding the mortgage foreclosure crisis, most recently in late March. He has also testified before the House Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law and the House Committee on Financial Services, and has written a number of papers on the subject of how mortgage foreclosures affect consumers.

He is also quoted in a New York Times blog today about how banks are responding to loan modification requests.

He teaches bankruptcy, comparative law, consumer law, contracts, and sales and payment systems at the northwestern Indiana law school.

Other recipients are professor Ingrid Michelsen Hillinger, Boston College Law School; professor Kenneth N. Klee, U.C.L.A. School of Law; and U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Bill Delahunt, D-Mass.; Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas; and Brad Miller, D-N.C.

The association has given the award annually "to recognize and honor those individuals who have distinguished themselves through leadership, scholarship, or legal advocacy by giving voice to American families facing financial crisis," according to a release from NACBA.