DEI and Social Justice Agenda

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

At the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, we value and celebrate our diverse community as we endeavor to create a more just world. Located in the greater New York City Metropolitan area, we strive to create a student body, faculty, and staff that reflect the wealth of backgrounds represented throughout this region and beyond. Haub Law is committed to diversity in all its forms – race, gender, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, socioeconomic status, religion, abilities, and more. We actively seek to create a community that is inclusive and welcoming through inclusive policies, practices, and programming.

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In Pursuit of Racial and Social Justice

Haub Law remains committed to the pursuit of racial and social justice in the United States and in the world. This commitment is in our DNA as a law school through the longstanding work of our Criminal Justice Institute, Immigration Justice Clinic, Legal Services Externship, Civil Rights courses and externships, environmental justice initiatives, symposiums, and more. We continuously build on this commitment and within the last few years we have expanded on this commitment through initiatives such as the Pace Access to Justice Project (Pace A2J), launching Westchester’s first Legal-Hand Call in Center in partnership with Legal Hand, Inc., through our newly launched annual Equity and Justice Forum, our Gender Justice Initiatives, and more.

Our students, faculty and staff continue to use our training, energy, and resources to effect change in the way that law is taught, learned, and applied. We continue to condemn and combat racism and other forms of hate and oppression, and we will work with our alumni, partners, and friends to impact the community beyond the Haub Law campus. Our work on behalf of diversity, equity, and inclusion will seek to pursue social justice and close gaps in access to justice.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and a commitment to social justice are core values at Haub Law.

A Reflective Curriculum

Each year, our social justice course offerings continue to expand. Our Curriculum Committee continues to explore new ways to bring social justice into the classroom. Our curriculum has included the following courses: Access to Justice Seminar, Access to Justice Lab, Civil Rights Law, Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: The Law of Policing, Poverty Law, Prisoners’ Rights, Social Justice Advocacy Externship, Guided Externship in Civil Rights, Topics in Legal Theory: The Black Lives Matter Movement, and Environmental Justice Seminar. This is a non-exhaustive list and in addition to continuously developing new, timely, and necessary courses, our Faculty Development Committee examines our teaching in all courses and continues to call out issues of disenfranchisement and marginalization in the development and application of legal doctrine with a goal of instilling in our students the will to reverse such use of the law wherever they observe it. In addition to our teaching in the classroom, we also provide our students with opportunities to effect positive social change outside of the classroom through our various clinic, externship, and internship opportunities, as well as our annual Access to Justice Workshop bringing together community experts and advocates to address gaps in our justice system.

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Actively Growing a Diverse, Inclusive Community

As a community, we continue to educate ourselves on issues of bias and discrimination and facilitate opportunities for our students, faculty, and staff to become involved in community social justice efforts. Today’s student body reflects a diverse community. We will continue to grow the pipeline of diverse law students by engaging with diverse students in mentorship programs, summer academies, and mock trial programs. Similarly, we will grow the pipeline of diverse law faculty by recruiting, mentoring, and launching diverse professors via Haub Law’s Visiting Scholar Program, Future Environmental Law Professors Workshop, Visiting Assistant Professor Program, and beyond.

We recognize that the entire law school community benefits from an inclusive environment that encourages open and honest discourse on a broad array of topics. We embrace diverse opinions both inside the classroom and out and expect everyone to be treated with dignity and respect for who they are and for their unique perspectives. While we value and honor the differences that a diverse community brings with it, we also recognize that we are part of a community with many shared goals and objectives, and perhaps most importantly, we all deserve to feel a sense of belonging within that community. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and a commitment to social justice are core values at Haub Law.

Learn about our Pipeline Programs