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Maryland-Pace Environmental Law Alliance
A First of its Kind Collaboration
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law have created a partnership between their nationally ranked environmental law programs. The memorandum of understanding between the Maryland-Pace Environmental Law Alliance was signed in 2015, and the schools have been working together on important initiatives since. This first of its kind collaboration between environmental law programs draws on each program’s strengths in the field to train the next generation of environmental lawyers in a new era of legal education and environmental challenges.
The Alliance allows Pace and Maryland to share environmental externship and experiential learning opportunities, engage in faculty and student exchanges and training programs, collaborate on global environmental law projects, and hold joint conferences, workshops and symposia. The schools offer a semester-long student exchange program, as well as courses taught jointly by professors at both schools. The Alliance seeks to create joint curricular and degree opportunities, teamwork between environmental law centers and clinics, and joint research projects and publications among other initiatives.
“This is an exciting opportunity for students and faculty at Maryland and Pace,” says Professor Jason Czarnezki, Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law and Associate Dean of Environmental Law Programs and Strategic Initiatives. “The Alliance brings together two top innovators in environmental legal education in a collaboration that spans the Mid-Atlantic Watershed.” Professor Robert Percival, Maryland’s Robert F. Stanton Professor of Law and Environmental Law Program Director, remarked, “This partnership gives students at both schools greater access to environmental externships and expertise in the D.C. and New York City metropolitan areas and even around the world in countries like China and Brazil.”
In 2016, the Alliance took office jointly as co-secretariats for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Academy of Environmental Law, the only international learned society for university environmental law academic scholars. Working with the Academy's Governing Board as co-secretariats, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University serving carry out the affairs of the Academy, including organizing the Academy's Annual Colloquia and coordinating the production of Academy publications.
Students, alumni, and non-media with questions, please contact Professor Jason Czarnezki (Associate Dean of Environmental Law Programs and Strategic Initiatives) at jczarnezki@law.pace.edu or Achinthi Vithanage (Associate Director, Environmental Law Programs) at avithanage2@law.pace.edu.