Preston hall on the Elisabeth Haub School of Law campus in White Plains NY

Dyson Distinguished Lecture

The Dyson Distinguished Lecture was endowed in 1982 by a gift from the Dyson Foundation made possible through the generosity of the late Charles H. Dyson, a 1930 graduate, trustee, and long-time benefactor of Pace University. The principal aim and objective of the Dyson Distinguished Lecture is to encourage and make possible scholarly legal contributions of very high quality in furtherance of Haub Law's educational mission.

Charles H. Dyson was born August 2, 1909, and died at the age of 87 on March 14, 1997. He was well known as a financier, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He was considered a pioneer in the field of leveraged buyouts and was best known for his government service. After graduating from Pace Institute in 1930, he began a career in public accounting. Dr. Dyson was a lifelong Democrat who worked for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served in World War II. In 1954, he founded the Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation, a New York investment company that has become one of the nation's largest privately held corporations. Pace University's Dyson College of Arts and Sciences is also named in his honor.

Past Lectures

I. Glenn Cohen, James A. Atwood & Leslie Williams Professor of Law and Deputy Dean of Harvard Law School

Professor I. Glenn Cohen

James A. Atwood & Leslie Williams Professor of Law and Deputy Dean of Harvard Law School
April 5, 2024
“The Alabama Embryo Decision in Ethics, Law and Politics”

Chris Rabb, Family historian, author and thought leader

Chris Rabb

Family historian, author and thought leader at the intersection of social identity, civic innovation and equity
October 25, 2023
"Navigating Social Identity, Belonging and Purpose in a Society of Flux"

Monica Hakimi, William S. Beinecke Professor of Law at Columbia Law School

Monica Hakimi

William S. Beinecke Professor of Law at Columbia Law School
April 14, 2023
"The United States and Ukraine: One Year On"
 

Chai Feldblum, Commissioner, The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Chai Feldblum

Commissioner, The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
April 27, 2016
"Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination: Revisiting Sex Discrimination Law"

Sarah B. Lawsky, University of California-Irvine School of Law

Sarah B. Lawsky

University of California-Irvine School of Law
March 23, 2015
"Rule-Based Legal Reasoning"
 

Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security

Jeh Johnson

Secretary of Homeland Security '
April 10, 2014

Horatia Muir Watt, Legal Professional

Horatia Muir Watt

February 8, 2013
"Sex Regimes and Corporate Governance: a Transatlantic Conversation"

Steven M. Wise, American Lawyer and Legal Scholar

Steven M. Wise

April 26, 2012
"The Nonhuman Rights Project's Struggle for Nonhuman Personhood"

Heidi M. Hurd, David C. Baum Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, University of Illinois

Heidi M. Hurd

David C. Baum Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, University of Illinois
February 9, 2012
"Fouling Our Nest: Is An (Environmental) Ethic Impotent Against (Bad) Economics";

Janet Halley, Royal Professor of Law at Harvard Law School

Janet Halley

Royal Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
November 12, 2010
"After Gender? Examining International Justice Enterprises"

  • November 12, 2010

    Janet Halley
    Royal Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
    "After Gender? Examining International Justice Enterprises"
    View After Gender lecture photos

    January 25, 2010

    Sunny Schwartz, Esq.
    Programs Administrator, San Francisco Sheriff's Department
    Founder, Resolve to Stop the Violence Project (RSVP)
    "Can Prisons Make Us Safer?: Restorative Justice and Criminal Justice Reform"

    April 16, 2009

    Dr. Cornel West
    Class of 1943 University Professor, Princeton University Center for African American Studies
    "In the Age of Obama"

    April 23, 2008

    Howard Lesnick
    Jefferson B. Fordham Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
    "The Practice of Teaching, the Practice of Law: What Does It Mean to Practice Responsibly?";

    April 6, 2006

    The Honorable Janet DiFiore
    District Attorney, Westchester County, NY
    "The Evolving Role of the Modern District Attorney"

    2005

    Kevin R. Johnson
    Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Mabie/Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies
    University of California at Davis, School of Law
    "The Forgotten 'Repatriation' of Persons of Mexican Ancestry and Lessons for the War on Terror"

    2003

    Harvey J. Goldschmid, Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission
    Dwight Professor of Law, Columbia University
    "Post Enron America and SEC Perspectives"

    2002

    Professor Daniel Farber
    McKnight Presidential Professor of Public Law, University of Minnesota
    "Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Rethinking Environmental Law After American Trucking"

    2001

    Professor Jesse H. Choper
    Earl Warren Professor of Public Law, University of California, Berkeley
    "The Presidential Election of 2000 and the Role of the United States Supreme Court"

    1997

    William E. Kennard
    General Counsel, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
    "Implementing the Telecommunications Act of 1996: Toward Consolidation or Competition?"

    1996

    John C. Coffee, Jr.
    Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
    "Class Actions After the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and MCA and What Should be Done About It"

    1993

    The Honorable Joseph W. Bellacosa
    New York State Court of Appeals
    "Ethical Impulses From the Death Penalty: 'Old Sparky's' Jolt to the Legal Profession"

    1992

    Sylvia A. Law
    Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
    "Crystal Eastman"

    1991

    Panel Presentation: "Justice Brennan: Foundation for the Future"
    Panelists:

    Nadine Strossen
    Professor of Law, New York Law School
    Justice Brennan and the Religion Clauses

    Gerald Rosberg
    Partner, Dewey Ballantine
    Justice Brennan and the Law of Obscenity

    Ronald Tabak
    Special Counsel, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
    Justice Brennan and the Death Penalty

    Bennett L. Gershman
    Professor of Law, Pace University School of Law
    The Moral Force of His Language

    Ralph Michael Stein
    Professor of Law, Pace University School of Law
    Justice Brennan and the First Amendment Minefield: In Respectful Appreciation

    1990

    David G. Owen
    Webster Professor of Tort Law, University of South Carolina
    "Products Liability: Principles of Justice for the 21st Century"

    1989

    Panel Presentation
    Julius L. Chambers, Sally E. Burns, John A. Powell, William Kunstler

    1986

    Charles L. Black
    Sterling Professor of Law Emeritus, Yale University
    "The Forest and the Trees in Constitutional Law"

    1985

    Eugene Rostow
    Sterling Professor of Law Emeritus, Yale University; Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law and Diplomacy, National Defense University
    "Why Is It So Hard to Negotiate with the Russians?"

    1985

    Abram Chayes
    Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
    "The ABM Treaty and the Strategic Defense Initiative"

    1983

    Harry W. Jones
    Cardozo Professor Emeritus of Jurisprudence, Columbia University
    "Precedent and Policy in Constitutional Law"