It’s energizing to be back on campuses for an in-person, New Normal fall semester. I’m teaching two classes this semester, I’m cheering on Setters athletes in Pleasantville and applauding PPA performances in New York City, and I’m enjoying the serendipity of bumping into students, friends, and colleagues in elevators and on walkways. I hope the new semester is off to as inspiring a start for all of you as it has been for me.

As we embark on the new year, my main focus is on continuing to build a strong Pace University by guiding the implementation of our strategic plan, Pace Forward. As always, two cornerstones of our work are investing in graduate, interdisciplinary, and combined degree programs to meet market demand and continuing our progress on DEI initiatives and our work to become an anti-racist institution.

Beyond those foundational efforts, we have four priorities for this academic year. The first is building out the Pace Path across all undergraduate programs and ensuring each undergraduate has the opportunity to complete two experiential activities before graduation. The second is supporting and investing in the people who work at Pace by improving our culture of collaboration addressing priorities identified in the Great Colleges results. The third is improving administrative processes to make it easier to get our work done, addressing both student-facing and employee-facing processes. And the fourth is completing construction on 15 Beekman Street and developing plans for One Pace Plaza East, as we continue to invest in our physical environment to meet our academic needs across all three campuses.

Staff and faculty, I encourage you to join next week’s Community Conversation, where we’ll begin discussion of our collaborative work on these priorities.

I also want to note that October is national Emotional Wellness Month. At Pace, we have renewed our commitment to advancing mental health and wellbeing among our students, faculty, and staff, especially in wake of the pandemic. We offer programming and support for both our student and employee communities, and I encourage you to take advantage of them.

Finally, like many of you I have watched the scenes of devastation from Puerto Rico, Florida, and elsewhere in the southeast in recent weeks. For those of you from the affected areas, or with friends or family there, we send all our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Have a good autumn. Have a good semester. And, especially in Emotional Wellbeing Month, do what you need to do to take care of yourselves.

Pace University Celebrates First Dedicated eSports Space

Pace University on Monday unveiled its first dedicated gaming arena in celebration of the Athletic Department’s newest and 15th varsity sport – Esports.

The announcement comes as Pace University’s Esports program enters its second official season after a successful inaugural year in spring 2022. There are more than 500 members across both campuses that are a part of Pace’s gaming community, including players on its Varsity, Academy, Club and Intramural teams. The arena was made possible with support from Burt and Hedda Hurvich.

“I am extremely excited to welcome our gamers to this amazing new Esports Center,” said Pace Director of Athletics Mark Brown. “The incredible generosity of the Hurvich family creates a space that allows all gamers to be a part of a formal team in a common space. This space will ensure all gamers can participate and play a significant role in our robust gaming community.”

The goal is for competitive and casual gamers is to be able to connect with like-minded peers in online and offline settings. In its relatively short existence, Pace has enjoyed success. For example, Pace Esports’ Smash Gold 2 team won the ECAC Open Division Grand Finals earlier this year, finishing in first place out of 76 teams in their division. Additionally, Pace Esports' All-Women's VALORANT Blue Team ("Pace Blue") recently placed third in the first-ever VENOM LAN event in Columbus, Ohio.

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“Last year we launched Pace’s Esports program to meet a rapidly growing demand and give our students the chance to build important skills like teamwork, strategy, and discipline,” said Pace President Marvin Krislov. “I’m very happy that thanks to the generosity of Burt and Hedda Hurvich, we’re now able to open this campus Esports Center to serve our students and this program.”

Joining the president, athletics director, the Hurvich family, and staff were scores of gamers, student-athletes, and members of the Pace Esports team.

“It’s a great space,” said Director of Esports Jesse Bodony. “We are hopeful that it takes things forward for Pace and the institution. It’s a step forward for the students and all the gamers who historically haven’t gotten the chance to be a part of something. So, for our competitive and causal gamers, this is something that moves the needle in a big way.”

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On Wednesday, September 21, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University held the kick-off event for the recently launched Sustainable Business Law Hub. The well-attended event provided a networking opportunity for like-minded business, environmental and legal professionals dedicated to sustainable business practices in Westchester County, New York City, and beyond.

Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law, Associate Dean for Environmental Law Programs and Strategic Initiatives, and the Faculty Director of the Sustainable Business Law Hub, Professor Jason Czarnezki, welcomed guests with opening remarks, highlighting the rapidly growing field of sustainable business law and the incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) values into the decisions of businesses and investors. Sustainable business law as emerged as a distinct area of law and ESG lawyers exist with increasing frequency in major firms. Of the 2022 Am Law 50 law firms, forty-two firms have a practice group or area of focus on ESG, corporate social responsibility (CSR), or sustainable business, Professor Czarnezki shared with the group.

“As the nation’s #1 program in environmental law, Haub Law continues to successfully train lawyers of the future, and our newly launched Sustainable Business Law Hub now trains the first generation of sustainable business lawyers,” remarked Horace Anderson, Dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. “We are excited about this opportunity for dialogue between the Westchester business and legal communities and we encourage local businesspeople to meet the inaugural cohort of Hub Student Scholars and discover how the Hub can support your business.”

Launched in fall 2021, Haub Law’s Sustainable Business Law Hub will serve as an incubator space, student-training program, research endeavor, and think tank devoted to addressing global sustainability challenges through policy and research projects, relationships with the business community, and capacity building in private environmental governance. The Hub will incorporate the three pillars of sustainability—economic, social and environmental welfare—into global business practices by engaging in research and policy development, improving public law and governance, and working with existing industry, the small business community, startups, and the community at-large to develop and employ innovative private environmental models and sustainability practices, such as those that promote a circular economy. Working hand-in-hand with faculty experts, students participating in the Hub will receive practical training and experience in using the law to foster sustainable business practices.

Notably, the Hub’s Advisory Board consists of Haub Law faculty, esteemed alumni, prominent members of the legal community, including ESG and sustainability leaders in the field. Recent Haub Law graduate, Colin Myers ’21, an Associate (ESG) with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, spoke about his time at Haub Law and his career path towards a career in ESG. He noted that the Sustainable Business Hub is pulling together all the resources and more that he had available to him as he advanced his career, noting that to advance in your niche area you need to network every opportunity you have.

Anna Marciano Romanella ’00, another alumni member of the Advisory Board, also shared her experience of how her education gave her the tools, foundation, and confidence to emerge as the Vice President of Sustainability for Zone North America at Nestle and, most recently, as Head of Sustainability for Nespresso USA. “Companies are inviting lawyers to have a seat at the table, not only for their legal acumen, but their business knowledge and their business insights and often, it is because of the way we think and process information, that we are given a seat at the table to give an opinion on sustainability topics,” said Romanella. “Pace enabled me to be able to think differently. To have an active role at the table with the ability to offer guidance on many different components within a large corporation.”