Pace Paw Print

A new arm of Pace University Law School will take a different approach in educating law students and professionals about matters of ecological policies.

Made possible by a $1 million grant from Theodore W. Kheel, the newly-created Kheel Center on Resolution and Environmental Interest Disputes will offer courses of study on "alternate dispute resolution techniques" - in other words, matters resolved without litigation. The center's benefactor and namesake, along with University President Stephen J. Friedman, made it official by signing the center into existence at a press conference on April 4.

The Center is predicted to affirm Pace Law's reputation as among the top environmental law programs in the country - repeatedly ranked third in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Its programs will address such concerns as global warming and climate change. The Center also plans to assist law firms in establishing legal practices in these fields.

Kheel, an accomplished New York attorney and mediator, is no stranger to the field of environmental law. He graduated from 1937 Cornell Law School in 1937 and has since committed a substantial portion of his professional life towards environmental affairs, attending the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro and founding the non-profit Earth Pledge Foundation. He also authored a book, The Keys to Conflict Resolution, which helped establish his name as one of the preeminent alternative dispute resolution practitioners in the nation.

With the first course scheduled for the Spring 2009 semester, the new Center will likely be an exciting and valuable addition to Pace's ever-expanding curriculum.

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