Page 12 - NYLS Magazine • 2014 • Vol. 33, No. 2

raiSiNg the ProfiLe of the facuLtY
Because of the central place of the faculty in the life of the School, NYLS is devoting important resources to raising the profile of the Law School’s extraordinary professors. Many faculty members have placed opinion pieces in print and online and have been quoted in major media outlets. In addition, the Law School has produced a compendium of faculty publications showing the scholarly work of full-time and adjunct faculty; developed a Faculty Experts video series, in which professors offer expert insights on a variety of topics; supported academic entrepreneurship by assisting faculty in developing profiles and brands that can be promoted via social media; and publicized the awards and honors that faculty members have received. Dean Crowell recently named Professor Richard K. Sherwin the inaugural Dean for Faculty Scholarship, as well as the Wallace Stevens Professor of Law. As Dean for Faculty Scholarship, he will be instrumental in helping NYLS to develop, support, and promote the scholarly strengths of the faculty. Faculty activities, videos, and blogs can be found www.nyls.edu/faculty.
The NYLS alumni community plays a crucial role in sustaining the Law School. NYLS has provided new and innovative opportunities for alumni to engage with the Law School such
as working to help design new programs, teaching CLE courses, speaking at career events, mentoring students, and providing valuable assistance with career placement. NYLS is more focused than ever on creating a strong foundation of support across the entire NYLS community.
In keeping with the Law School’s goal of adapting to a structurally changed legal marketplace, the Strategic Plan announced a particular focus on three areas—government and public interest; intellectual property, media, technology, and applied sciences; and business and financial services—which, because they broadly encompass what will likely be major areas of economic growth in New York City and beyond, will help make NYLS students the most competitive they can be. Three Centers—the new Impact Center for Public Interest Law, the Institute for Information Law and Policy, and the Center for Business and Financial Law—are distinctly aligned with these practice areas.
The Impact Center for Public Interest Law, which was launched in the fall 2014 semester, brings together many public interest initiatives at NYLS—including the Racial Justice Project, the Safe Passage Project, and the Diane Abbey Law Institute for Children and Families—under one umbrella. Dean Crowell
said, “Through real-world endeavors, our students, alumni, and professors will make a difference in people’s lives on the defining issues of civil liberty and the pursuit of justice. Our goal is to shape not only public interest lawyers, but also public interest law for the 21st century.” The Center is co-directed by Associate Dean
for Academic Affairs Deborah N. Archer and Professor Richard Marsico. Distinguished Adjunct Professor Andrew Scherer serves as the Center’s Policy Director and also chairs an Advisory Council made up of leading public interest law practitioners and public officials. The Center’s website, www.nyls.edu/impact, lists all its initiatives as well as upcoming events.
It also is a very exciting year for the Institute for Information
Law and Policy (IILP). The IILP has a new Director: Ari Ezra Waldman, who was promoted to Associate Professor of Law as a member of the full-time faculty in July. Professor Waldman focuses on the law and sociology of Internet life, with particular emphasis on the inequalities and injustices that arise in unregulated digital spaces. Additionally, the Law School hired Jacob Sherkow, an expert in biotechnology and patent law, as an Associate Professor to play an important role in the growth of the IILP. Speaking of his plans for the IILP, Professor Waldman said, “We’re revamping a number of dynamic doctrinal courses; increasing the opportunities for experiential learning; and opening up new clinics, such as our certification pilot program with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. We’re intent on preparing students to hit the ground running as lawyers in the new innovation economy.” The Center’s website is www.nyls.edu/iilp.
Both Co-Directors of the Center for Business and Financial Law (CBFL), Tamara C. Belinfanti and Houman Shadab, were promoted to full Professors of Law with tenure in the spring, in recognition, in part, of the important research undertaken by the Center and the leading-edge programs it hosts. On October 21, the CBFL hosted a half-day conference on a new technology with a huge impact on the financial world: bitcoins. That event, Bitcoin Law: Regulation and Transactions, drew major press coverage
for its innovative look at this new payment system. The Center’s website is www.nyls.edu/cbfl.
A major focus for Dean Crowell has been fiscal responsibility. NYLS has reduced expenses by 28 percent in the past two years while keeping tuition stable for the third year in a row. In addition, NYLS has doubled the amount of scholarship aid to students.
The School has also created numerous administrative efficiencies, largely through converting manual processes to electronic methods. Dean Crowell is also leading a campus consolidation effort that will bring administrative offices and academic programs occupying leased spaced into the Law School’s buildings. This will result in greater personal interaction, eliminate the need for leased space, and enable the Law School to place all classes, programs, and activities under one roof. The plan is projected to achieve a reduction in overhead costs of $50 million over the next 17 years. Several trustees and alumni have remarked at how impressed they are with the rigorous approach that New York Law School, under Dean Crowell’s watch, is taking. They have said they believe the School is doing everything necessary to ensure its fiscal stability into the future.
aLuMNi eNgageMeNt
acadeMic aLigNMeNt
fiScaL reSPoNSibiLitY
10 NEw York Law SCHooL magazINE • 2014 • VOL. 33, NO. 2