Next semester, the William S. Richardson School of Law Environmental Law Program (ELP) will welcome Visiting Professor Katrina (Katy) Fischer Kuh. Professor Kuh is a long-time friend of ELP, joining us from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in New York. Prior to her work at Pace University, Prof. Kuh served as a Professor and Associate Dean at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. Before her impressive academic career, Professor Kuh worked in the environmental and litigation practice groups in the New York office of Arnold & Porter LLP and also served as an advisor on natural resource policy in the United States Senate.
ELP is thrilled to host Prof. Kuh in Hawai‘i for the spring 2023 semester! Prof. Kuh is likewise looking forward to her time at Richardson: “Pace has long and strong connections with the students and faculty of ELP. Professor Wallsgrove came to Pace as a Haub Visiting Scholar in 2019 and we regularly collaborate on the Tony Oposa Intergenerational Moot Court and through the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. I look forward to working with the students at Richardson, developing a deeper understanding of the environmental rights protected in the Hawai‘i constitution, and strengthening the ties between our institutions.”
Professor Kuh focuses her scholarship on climate change and sustainability. Accordingly, she teaches classes such as Environmental Law, International Environmental Law, Climate Change Law, Administrative Law, and Torts at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. During her visiting semester at Richardson, Prof. Kuh will be teaching Administrative Law and Climate Change Law and policy. ELP students at Richardson should take this opportunity to learn these subjects from another expert perspective!
Administrative law is intertwined with environmental law. As many students and practitioners know, the subject is notoriously complex. ELP Co-Director David Forman usually instructs ELP students on this topic, but he is on sabbatical for the 2022-2023 academic year. ELP’s usual professor for climate change law, Prof. Maxine Burkett, is on leave working in the Biden administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar affairs (Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs). Luckily, ELP students will still have the opportunity to learn these disciplines of law from Prof. Kuh who serves an essential role in Haub School of Law environmental law program.
U.S. News recently named the Elisabeth Haub School of Law the top-ranked (tie) environmental law program in the U.S. In addition, the journal Environmental Policy and Law ranked the school number one among the top Environmental Policy Centers of Excellence across the entire globe. Prof. Kuh has helped the Haub School of Law retain these top rankings as an environmental law program, and ELP is looking forward to building upon its existing collaborative efforts. Pace University’s own website recognizes our two institutions as the “only two laws schools worldwide to be . . . member[s] of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which provides students with the opportunity to draft memoranda, debate issues, and attend IUCN meetings, including the World Conservation Congress and U.S. National Committee meetings.” We will continue to explore ways to make ELP more beneficial for students as well as the community at large.
ELP is thankful for the opportunity to strengthen our ties with the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. We wish Prof. Kuh safe travels to Hawai‘i in the near future and look forward to seeing her in person soon!
JB 10/14/22