Image

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the appointment of, and swore in, Robert S. Tucker, 1996 graduate from The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, as the 35th commissioner of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY). In addition to graduating from Pace, Tucker also serves on the university’s Board of Trustees.

“Robert Tucker is an incredible member of Pace’s Board and New York City is lucky to have him serving in such a critical role at the FDNY,” said Rob Sands, chairman of Pace’s Board of Trustees. “We applaud Mayor Adams’ selection of Robert and look forward to seeing him spread Pace’s motto of Opportunitas.”

Tucker brings decades of public safety experience to the FDNY, previously serving as a special assistant to the Queens County district attorney and, most recently, as chairman and CEO of T&M Protection Resources, a globally recognized leader in security solutions and cyber intelligence. As FDNY commissioner, Tucker will oversee the day-to-day administration of the agency’s 17,000 employees and a $2 billion budget.

In 2017, through Tucker’s generous support, Pace’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law created the Robert S. Tucker Prize for Prosecutorial Excellence. This honor is awarded annually to an individual or a group of individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of criminal prosecution and who demonstrate excellence in prosecutorial practice. Honorees are selected each year by a jury comprised of former prosecutors and faculty members from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. The award ceremony brings together Assistant District Attorneys from across the region and state, civic leaders, members of the judiciary, New York City government and the Haub Law community to recognize these distinguished individuals for their work.

“Public safety has been my life’s work. I’ve had a long career in the public and private sector and being appointed commissioner of the FDNY is the biggest honor of my life,” said Tucker. “I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity to apply so many of the lessons that I learned at Pace, both as a student and as a member of the Board, on behalf of the people of New York City and the FDNY.”

Among his many professional, civic and philanthropic affiliations, Tucker currently serves as secretary of the FDNY Foundation and as an honorary fire commissioner, a member of the Board of Trustees and treasurer of the New York City Police Foundation and an honorary police commissioner, and past president of the Associated Licensed Detectives of New York state. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of White Plains Hospital and a former member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, Metro Chapter.

About Pace University

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, School of Education, Sands College of Performing Arts, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Melvin Williams, PhD, was quoted in Vox on the topic of celebrity endorsements and how that affects decision-making at the polls.

He said, “Political candidates are heavily leaning on celebrities as a mechanism to attract the attention of this cycle’s youngest voting demographic: Generation Z.”

Read more about the influence of celebrity endorsements on the Vox website.

In March 2024, I traveled to Vienna, Austria for the first time to represent Haub Law on the “Verein,” known more formally as the “Association for the Organization and Promotion of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.” The Vis Moot is the world’s largest international commercial arbitration student competition, with teams from hundreds of law schools and countries around the world. Held in Vienna each spring, the Vis Moot has expanded over the years to include the annual Vis Moot East in Hong Kong, as well as dozens of “Pre-Moots”—practice competitions—all over the world.

Image

The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University has a strong and historical connection to the Vis Moot. A Haub Law professor, Dr. Eric Bergsten, founded the Moot, and ran it for many years before the Verein officially took over. Professor Willem Vis, after whom it is named, was a preeminent international arbitration scholar, Haub Law professor, and founding director of the Institute of International Commercial Law at Pace University (IICL). And Pace Professor Al Kritzer was founder of the IICL and published the CISG Database—an online database of decisions by international arbitration panels interpreting and applying the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Every year, the Vis Moot problem has one procedural issue drawn from a rotation of the rules of various international arbitration providers, and one substantive issue based on interpretations of the CISG.

My experiences at the 31st Vis Moot deepened my perspective on international commercial arbitration. I observed Haub Law’s outstanding student team compete in a few of its rounds, and I served as an arbitrator for other rounds. I marveled at the wonderful mentorship, coaching and nonstop cheerleading of our team provided by Professor Linda Wayner and “Vis Mootie” and Haub Law alumna Bryn Goodman ‘11. I participated in the meeting of the Verein to debrief this year’s competition and discuss planning for next year. I attended the festive (and packed) Opening Ceremonies, at which Professor Bergsten, who passed away last summer, was honored and remembered fondly. I also attended the annual Bergsten lecture, delivered by Professor Patricia Louise Shaughnessy, Associate Professor at Stockholm University, Law Department and President of the Vis Moot Association, who addressed the topic: “Arbitration and the Rule of Law: delivering justice in a consent-based, private process.”

Image

Not only did I learn about international commercial arbitration while in Vienna, I also availed myself of the opportunity to learn about foreign perspectives on the broader field of international conflict resolution. To that end, on a visit to the Jewish Museum in Vienna I learned more about the history of Jewish life in the city and fortuitously stumbled across a temporary exhibit at the museum called “FRIEDEN/PEACE.” [Frieden is the word for peace in German.] The exhibit was put together in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and was finalized around the time of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The exhibit “recalls the idea of peace as an achievement of civilization and may be seen as a contribution to a culture of peace that is still defective.”

The thought-provoking and moving exhibit was quite relevant to my teaching of conflict resolution. As my students know, I preach the value of developing negotiating skills as a lawyer. So, no surprise here: I was drawn to what was called “The Negotiating Table.” As pictured here, in the middle of the exhibition room was a round table with eight chairs, with origami birds, an international symbol of peace, strung over the table resembling a childhood mobile. The mobile resulted from a kids’ activity: children were asked to write out what “peace” meant to them on a round piece of paper which was then hung next to the origami birds.

Image

Imprinted on the table in front of each chair was the word for “peace” in eight different languages: Frieden, shalom, salam, mir, pokòj, ahimsa, he ping, pax, and eirene. The exhibit explained: “peace has many, often metaphorical, meanings and is understood differently depending on the historical, religious, or cultural context. The ideas and concepts about peace are correspondingly diverse. We have collected the main ones here on our ‘negotiating table.’”

The exhibit also explained that “peace is not just the absence of war. This negative definition is contrasted by peace researchers with positive peace, which also includes the absence of structural violence and is linked with the concepts of justice, democracy, human rights, and international law.” The notion that peace is not just the absence of war resonated deeply with me, as eliminating war cannot be the only goal of peace talks. Rather, peace talks need to address the warring countries’ underlying interests, needs and desires.

The notion that peace is not just the absence of war resonated deeply with me, as eliminating war cannot be the only goal of peace talks.

When I returned to campus, I shared my experiences of the exhibit with my Survey of Dispute Resolution Processes class. After reminding students how we explored various aspects of conflict in the first class of the semester, I then asked them (and now ask readers) to ponder what the Exhibit forcefully asked its visitors: What does peace mean to you?

Image

At a time when unprecedented marine heat waves warm 40 percent of the oceans, and much life at sea is endangered, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is proud to recognize two distinguished women for their leadership negotiating the world’s first legal agreement to safeguard biodiversity in the high seas. The 2024 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy will be jointly awarded to Singapore’s Ambassador for International Law, Rena Lee, and Senior High Seas Advisor to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Kristina Maria Gjerde. Ambassador Rena Lee and Kristina Maria Gjerde will receive the prestigious Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy in recognition of their unwavering commitment to ocean conservation and their instrumental roles in advancing the 2023 UN Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).

“Ambassador Rena Lee and Kristina Maria Gjerde are exceptionally worthy Laureates for the Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Policy,” said Horace E. Anderson Jr., Dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law and President of the Haub Award Jury. “Their diplomatic leadership has provided a much-needed environmental legal framework for the high seas, 70 percent of the Earth’s surface outside of the sovereignty of all nations. The BBNJ Agreement provides a new focus for safeguarding the ocean’s resources. It comes just in time and is a uniquely important contribution to international environmental law.”

The BBNJ Agreement provides a new focus for safeguarding the ocean’s resources. It comes just in time and is a uniquely important contribution to international environmental law.

Ambassador Lee’s career in international law spans over three decades, covering a range of international law subjects, including international human rights and humanitarian law and disarmament law, with a focus on the law of the seas, environmental law, and climate change law. Since joining the Singapore public service in 1992, she has served in a variety of significant roles including with the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and now as the Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. A pivotal figure in international marine conservation, within these roles, she has had significant contributions and influence on global ocean policy and conservation efforts. As Singapore’s Ambassador for Oceans and Law of the Sea Issues and the Special Envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, she was elected as President of the Intergovernmental Conference on an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marina Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in 2018. Ambassador Lee's leadership in the Conference was crucial in forging this landmark treaty (BBNJ Agreement). The BBNJ Agreement has been heralded as a major achievement in multilateral diplomacy and cooperation. It establishes the legal and institutional framework for sharing the benefits of marine genetic resources derived from areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), conducting environmental impact assessments, creating large-scale marine protected areas, and enabling all States to participate in these processes as part of a global collaborative effort to safeguard the ecological and scientific treasures of these vast ocean areas beyond national boundaries.

Kristina Maria Gjerde has dedicated nearly 40 years to advancing public international law relating to the marine environment. Her expertise encompasses ocean governance, shipping, fishing, and deep seabed mining, driven by a passion for advancing the role of science and scientists to improve marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. Gjerde’s visionary work through IUCN in conceptualizing the need for and potential content of a potential BBNJ Agreement in the early 2000s led to the establishment of several key initiatives, including the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative, the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative, the Sargasso Sea Project, and the High Seas Alliance. She also served on the Executive Planning Group of the UN Decade of Ocean Science. In addition to Gjerde’s role with IUCN, Gjerde is an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh, a Pew Marine Fellow and formerly a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Policy Center Fellow. Gjerde sits on the Schmidt Ocean Institute Advisory Board and has co-authored over 200 publications, collaborating with leading ocean scientists and legal scholars with a focus on marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in ABNJ. Her efforts have significantly contributed to the progressive development of marine law and policy, exemplified by her vital role in catalyzing early support for the BBNJ Agreement. Her commitment to uplifting early career scholars has enabled new voices from around the world to shape the process. In February 2023, Professor Gjerde received the IUCN World Commission on Protected Area’s Fred Packard Award for her efforts to secure protections in international law for the high seas.

Described as one of the biggest conservation victories ever, the BBNJ Agreement seeks to foster global stewardship of the world ocean currently and for the future, to protect the marine environment, to responsibly use the international waters, and to maintain and foster the undersea ecosystems while conserving their biological diversity. The BBNJ Agreement will also inherently address climate change impacts related to the degradation of the world ocean and ecosystems by working towards and providing an ocean governance framework for building institutional and ecological resilience in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Pace University Trustee and environmental advocate, Liliane Haub, a member of the Haub Award Jury, expressed her admiration for the laureates: “The dedication and achievements of Ambassador Lee and Professor Gjerde are truly inspiring. Their work in ocean conservation is critical for the sustainability of our planet's marine resources and ecosystems. The scientific and diplomatic leadership of these joint laureates has made a tremendous contribution toward attaining the UN’s goal to set aside 30 percent of the High Seas as protected areas by 2030.”

The Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy is the world’s most prestigious award in the field of environmental law. The Award has a distinguished history since 1979 shaped by progress in the field of environmental law and policy, and through collaborations with the Universite libre du Bruxelles and the International Council of Environmental Law. In 2016, the Family of Elisabeth Haub and the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University established the award as it is known today to honor Elisabeth Haub (1899–1977), a noted philanthropist and advocate for strong laws for the conservation of nature. Chosen annually by an esteemed jury, the Award recognizes the innovation, skill, and accomplishments of lawyers, diplomats, international civil servants and other advocates who work to create the world environmental order. In 2023, the Haub Award was given to Ambassador Marja Lehto (Finland) and Ambassador Marie Jacobsson (Sweden) in recognition of their pivotal roles advancing environmental law and policy to protect the environment in times of armed conflict.

The ceremony for the 2024 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy honoring Ambassador Rena Lee and Kristina Maria Gjerde will take place on Thursday, October 24 at 6:15 p.m. EST in New York City and be broadcast virtually.