Pace University was recently awarded $476,000 from the Mellon Foundation to support a three-year interdisciplinary initiative, Islands, Archipelagos, and Cultural Ecologies. The project will advance environmental justice and the environmental humanities at Pace, building on the university’s strengths in experiential learning and place-based education.
The initiative will focus on developing an institutional identity for Pace’s lower Manhattan location as an island campus in New York City while connecting with other archipelagos in relationship with the United States. Through comparative studies of the islands of New York with the US legacy in the Marshall Islands and the territory of the US Virgin Islands the program will explore themes of vulnerability, responsibility, resilience, and decolonization.
“This grant provides an extraordinary opportunity for Pace University to deepen its leadership in environmental justice and interdisciplinary scholarship,” said Pace University President Marvin Krislov. “The Mellon Foundation’s support will enable us to harness the collective expertise of our faculty and students, bridging the humanities and environmental sciences to address urgent local and global issues.”
Led by a team of Pace faculty, the initiative includes Erica Johnson PhD, associate chairperson and professor of English; Emily Welty PhD, department chairperson and associate professor of the Peace and Justice Studies program; Matthew Bolton PhD, Political Science professor; Melanie DuPuis PhD, Environmental Studies and Science emeritus professor; and Katrina Fischer Kuh, Haub Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law.
“The Mellon Foundation grant underscores the humanities’ essential role in addressing critical global challenges,” said Tresmaine R. Grimes, Ph.D., dean of the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education. “This initiative highlights Pace’s leadership in experiential humanities, empowering students to explore resilience, decolonization, and cultural ecologies through innovative, place-based learning.”
The project is motivated by Pace’s recent participation in the Climate Exchange, a multi-institution initiative addressing climate challenges, and faculty research in environmental law, justice, and humanities. It will support activities such as faculty-mentored student research, curriculum development, and public engagement projects to address issues like waterfront planning, cultural production, and nuclear justice.
“The Elisabeth Haub School of Law has long been a leader in environmental law and justice,” said Horace Anderson Jr., J.D., dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. “This initiative builds on our expertise in addressing the complex relationships between law, policy, and the environment, and it offers an unparalleled opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration.”
“These themes—climate justice, creative interventions, and decolonization—reflect the core strengths of our faculty and the mission of Pace University,” said Johnson. “This initiative will amplify Pace’s role as a leader in environmental humanities and justice.”
The initiative aligns with Pace University’s commitment to experiential learning and interdisciplinary collaboration, creating opportunities for students and faculty to explore pressing global challenges while contributing to local communities.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive.
Since 1906, Pace University has been transforming the lives of its diverse students—academically, professionally, and socioeconomically. With campuses in New York City and Westchester County, Pace offers bachelor, master, and doctoral degree programs to 13,600 students in its College of Health Professions, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Lubin School of Business, Sands College of Performing Arts, School of Education, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is proud to announce that Lauren Roth, an accomplished scholar in health law and business law, will join the faculty as an Associate Professor of Law beginning in Fall 2025. Professor Roth will teach courses in corporations, contracts, and health law while also contributing her expertise and leadership to Haub Law’s Health Law and Policy Certificate program.
Lisa Fastenberg, Ph.D., associate professor and chairperson of the Mathematics Department in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences at Pace University in Pleasantville, has been appointed to Pace’s Board of Trustees.
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is pleased to announce that Keith Engel, a seasoned expert in tax policy, will join the faculty as a Visiting Professor for the Spring 2024 semester. During his time at Haub Law, Professor Engel will teach Corporations & Partnerships and Tax Policy. Engel is currently Chief Executive Officer for the South African Institute of Taxation and an adjunct tax professor at the University of Witswatersrand.