Pace Law professors to finish summer course on July 14, 15 

White Plains, N.Y., July 2, 2004 -- Almost behind the lines in Gaza, a contentious area of the world, Pace University law professors are teaching a course this summer about water, one of the world’s most historically contentious subjects.

Mixing anxiety and optimism, one course segment touches on “prospects for peaceful settlement of disputes over water within and between nations.”

The course also shows a unique way a U.S. institution is reaching out to help colleagues in a part of the world where resources are scarcer.

The seven-session course is about water law and the students are master’s candidates in water resources management at the Islamic University in Gaza. The course is taught online, in English, from White Plains, N.Y., by volunteer professors at Pace University’s Law School under the leadership of Nicholas Robinson. Robinson is known around the world for his successes in developing environmental law and chairs the commission on environmental law for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the largest nongovernmental organization for conservation in the world.

Classes include transcontinental discussion. The last two sessions originate from White Plains two weeks from now from 8 to 10 am (3-5 pm in Gaza). Sewage law figures in the penultimate class, on Water Pollution Laws, taught by Jeffrey G. Miller on Wednesday, July 14. The segment on Thursday, July 15, sums up Trends in Water Law Regimes, is taught by Robinson, and includes the peaceful settlements issue plus “climate change and its implications for water law regimes.”

Before getting up early to cover the class (or booking a flight to Gaza), journalists can get a sense of the class from Robinson, who is reachable through Christopher T. Cory in the Pace office of public information (212-346-1117, cell 917-608-8164, ccory@pace.edu) or through his office, 914-422-4244. For additional information on the class, contact Adjunct Professor Lee Paddock at 914-422-4209. 

Founded in 1976, Pace Law School is a New York Law School with a suburban campus in White Plains, N.Y., 20 miles north of New York City. Part of Pace University, the school offers the J.D. program for full-time and part-time day and evening students. Its postgraduate program includes the LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees in Environmental Law and an LL.M. in Comparative Legal Studies. Pace has one of the nation's top-rated Environmental Law programs and its Clinical Education program also is nationally ranked, offering clinics in domestic violence prosecution, environmental law, securities arbitration, criminal justice and disability rights. www.law.pace.edu 

Pace is a comprehensive, independent university with campuses in New York City, Pleasantville and White Plains, N.Y., and a Hudson Valley Center at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, N.Y. More than 14,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lubin School of Business, School of Computer Science and Information Systems, School of Education, Lienhard School of Nursing and Pace Law School. www.pace.edu