The Elisabeth Haub School of Law established the Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Lecture on Environmental Law to expand its programs of research, education, professional and scholarly activity and publications in environmental law, a field for which Haub Law has received national and international recognition. The Kerlin endowment funds a named professorship on Environmental Law at Haub Law. Professor Nicholas A. Robinson, founder of Haub Law's environmental programs, was named the first Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Distinguished Professor in 1999 and Professor Jason J. Czarnezki was designated as the second Kerlin Distinguished Professor in 2013.
Mr. Gilbert Kerlin, of counsel to Shearman & Sterling in New York City, was a distinguished lawyer. He was a founder and chairman of the Riverdale Community Planning Association, an organization that spearheaded the rezoning of the entire West Bronx to preserve the greenbelt area of that section of New York City. He was also a leader in protecting the natural environment of the Hudson River and its greenbelt area. Mr. Kerlin was the founding chairman of Wave Hill, the outstanding public garden and cultural institution in Riverdale, New York. Mrs. Kerlin, a long-time trustee of the Bank Street College of Education, was responsible for creating and supporting environmental and educational programs at Wave Hill for teachers and public school students.
Mr. Gilbert Kerlin passed away at the age of 94 in 2004; his wife of 60 years, Sarah, died in 2001. The Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Lecture on Environmental Law continues in their honor.
Associate Dean, William T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law
Co-Director, Center for Law and Energy Resources in the Rockies
October 3, 2024
"The Supreme Court’s Approach Toward the Administrative State and Implications for Environmental Programs"
Senate confirmed General Counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
April 18, 2023
"Addressing the Triple Environmental Challenges of Climate Change, Environmental Injustice, and Pollution: An EPA Perspective"
Chief Sustainability Officer, GE
February 8, 2022
"How Corporate Social Responsibility Will Define the 2020s as the Most Historic Period of Environmental Progress"
Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity
October 7, 2020
"Nature and People: the Contribution of the Biodiversity Agenda to Sustainable Development
Gauthier-St. Martin Eminent Scholar and Chair in Environmental Law
September 26, 2019
"Lights Out—Climate Resilience and Energy Justice"
Research Professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
October 24, 2018
"Change in Antartica, What Does it Mean to Us?"
Haub Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law
November 13, 2017
"Against the Will of the People for the Good of Humankind: The Counter-Majoritarian Difficulty and the Role of Courts in an Environmental Democracy"
Executive Director, Waterkeeper Alliance
October 26, 2016
"Power of Possibility: Birth of a Movement, Rebirth of Our Waterways"
United States Senator for Connecticut
October 13, 2015
"Environmental Enforcement—Giving the Law Teeth"
2014 Distinguished International Environmental Scholar-in-Residence, Elisabeth Haub School of Law
October 1, 2014
"Shooting Stars and Dancing Fish"
September 25, 2013
Jason Czarnezki
Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law, Elisabeth Haub School of Law
"New York City Rules! Regulatory Tools and the Environment"
January 29, 2013
Patricia Salkin
Dean, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
"The Executive and the Environment: A Look at the Last Five Governors in New York"
October 27, 2011
John C. Cruden
President, Environmental Law Institute
"Making the Polluter Pay: Environmental Enforcement in the Modern Era"
View John C. Cruden lecture photos
October 18, 2010
Jim Salzman
Professor of Law, Professor of Environmental Policy at Duke University
"What is the Emperor Wearing? A Critical Look at the Potential of Ecosystem Services for Environmental Protection"
October 8, 2009
Suedeen G. Kelly
Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
"Renewables and Smart Grid: Is This Where We are Headed?"
October 1, 2008
Peter Lehner
Executive Director, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
"Environment, Law, and Nonprofits: How NGOs Shape Our Laws, Health, and Communities"
October 19, 2007
John P. Cahill '85 '92
Of Counsel, Chadbourne & Parke LLP
"Environmental Law in New York State: The Past as Prologue to the Future"
October 30, 2006
Theodore W. Kheel
Of Counsel, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP;
President and CEO, Nurture Nature Foundation
"Resolving the Conflict between Environmental Protection and Economic Development"
November 17, 2005
Malcolm Grant, CBE, MA, LLD, HonMRTPI, HonRICS
President and Provost, University College London (UCL)
"Reconciling Science and Public Engagement in Environmental Policy Making: European Attitudes toward Releasing Genetically Modified Organisms"
November 8, 2004
Daniel C. Esty
Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale Law School
"Bringing Administrative Law to Bear in Global Environmental Governance"
October 27, 2003
Bharat H. Desai, PhD
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
"The Future of International Environmental Governance: Johannesburg and Beyond"
September 25, 2002
Juan Mayr Maldonado
Former Minister of the Environment, Republic of Colombia
"The Role of Ethics in the Construction of a Culture for Sustainable Development"
September 20, 2001
Jacqueline Lang Weaver
A. A. White Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center
"The Federal Government As a Useful Enemy: Perspectives on the Bush Energy/Environment Agenda from the Texas Oil Fields"
September 21, 2000
Carol Rose
Gordon Bradford Tweedy Professor of Law and Organization, Yale Law School
"Selling the Common Heritage? Commerce, Property and the Protection of the Environment"