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Pace University’s College of Health Professions alumna, Paule Valery Joseph, PhD, MS, FNP-BC, FAAN, found her passion for nursing and healthcare at a young age. Her journey of becoming an exceptional nurse scientist with multiple advanced degrees started from studying her mother’s career as the community nurse in their town in Venezuela. She recalls that as a child she did not understand much of what her mom did but watching her provide care for individuals in the community ignited a light inside of her to follow in her footsteps. As a now, first-generation PhD, she realizes the importance of having strong mentors from the beginning of an educational journey.

At the age of 16, she moved to the United States for the opportunity to go to college and obtain a nursing degree. After earning an associate and bachelor’s degree in nursing, she knew that she still wanted to learn more. Following the recommendation from a friend and the convenience of New York City and Pleasantville, she decided to check out what Pace University and the Lienhard School of Nursing had to offer. “I discovered that Pace had a curriculum with an emphasis in evidence-based care and an extremely fascinating course that Joanne Singleton, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FNAP, FNYAM, FAAN, was teaching about cadaver dissection. It was the only nurse practitioner program that offered this particular course. Because of my love for biology, I knew this was where I was meant to be,” said Dr. Joseph.

She credits her faculty mentors at the Lienhard School of Nursing for motivating her to begin furthering her experience in research. In addition to Dr. Singleton, she expressed her gratitude towards Dean Emerita Harriet Feldman, PhD, RN, FAAN; Former Provost Marilyn Jaffe-Ruiz, EdD, RN; and Sandra Lewenson, EdD, RN. Dr. Joseph went on to explain, “It was my first experience working closely with university scholars and I learned so much from them. I had the opportunity of working with Dr. Jaffe-Ruiz and Dr. Feldman on research projects and on the Jonas Project.” As an LSN student, Dr. Joseph took advantage of every opportunity that crossed her path, including working with both Dean Emerita Harriet Feldman and Dr. Marilyn Jaffe-Ruiz on the book Nursing Leadership: A Concise Encyclopedia. “It was my first exposure to working with nurse scientists on a publication and I was able to contribute to several chapters and start developing my scholarship.” Through the Jonas Scholar implementation grant, she was awarded $500 to teach cultural competency—the ability to communicate with, understand, and effectively interact with people of all cultures—to nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. “Despite its relatively small size, the grant served as a steppingstone, and made a meaningful impact in my career. It was my first award- my first grant that was peer-reviewed,” Dr. Joseph remarks. “I learned early on as a student that it is important to seize every opportunity you can and apply for grants and scholarships. It’s empowering to be peer-reviewed at that stage and realize that your ideas are valued.”

I learned early on as a student that it is important to seize every opportunity you can and apply for grants and scholarships. It’s empowering to be peer-reviewed at that stage and realize that your ideas are valued.

Her intention was to begin practicing after completing the Pace Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program before applying to a doctoral program. However, the four inspiring nurse leaders she credits encouraged her to go for it. Dr. Joseph followed their advice and continued her educational journey at the University of Pennsylvania to earn her PhD in Nursing with a focus in Genomics. “I thought that I would be studying nursing history, based on my experience at Pace in Dr. Lewenson’s course The History of Nursing. This journey gave me the opportunity to dabble between nursing history and basic biology. My curiosity about the human body pushed me to study more about chemosensory disorders and diseases,” she explained. Her desire to study Genomics was influenced by Dr. Singleton’s course, “The classes I took at Pace intrigued me and prompted me to ask more questions, this led me to focus my studies in a more basic science area.”

Although Dr. Joseph chose an uncommon path of study, it positioned her as one of the few experts qualified to answer the many smell and taste questions that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. “One of the things that I am very passionate about is the ability to create treatment modalities for patients and therapies that might not be pharmacological but that can help patients cope and have a better quality of life,” she said. “The more we understand, the more we can help people have better quality of life, connect better with the world around us, and develop relationships with those seeking guidance.”

Besides her research, Dr. Joseph is committed to different philanthropic initiatives around the world. She has a firm belief that when children are provided a healthy lifestyle in their early, formative years, it can change the future of a nation. She is heavily involved in the Amazing Grace Children’s Foundation, a project extremely important to her because their mission is to bridge access to medical care for children and women in low resource, under-served populations in Ghana and neighboring communities. As a nurse practitioner, she can provide the necessary care in these remote areas where the resources are very limited. To Dr. Joseph, this kind of work is unmatched because of the impact that they have on those families every single year. “Working with the Amazing Grace Children’s Foundation saved me at a time that was very difficult for me, it opened my eyes to ways in which I could use my skills to impact global health. The amount of learning that I have been able to acquire from this experience and how much I have learned from the people in the community helped me to see the world through a different lens,” she said. She believes nursing has opened doors and windows of opportunities for her, “Nursing is a wonderful profession, filled with many opportunities. We can have our voices heard and be active change agents.” She hopes that others realize of the impact and power (we) nurses have to create local and global change.

One of the most rewarding aspects of her career is watching her mentees and students achieve their goals and knowing that she has helped them is an amazing experience. Her advice to students is to have a mentor, ask questions, believe in themselves, and never be afraid to strive for more. To continue advising future leaders in healthcare, she expressed that she is always more than happy to guide anyone interested in this career by sharing her experiences and answering any questions to help keep them on the right path. “Being visible and available to share my experiences to those who want to do this type of career is very important. The path is not straight, nor is it ever perfect. I did not just wake up one day and become a scientist. It’s a lot of hard work and crucial to developing who you will become. The ability to be able to share these experiences with others is priceless in so many ways.”

Pace University’s College of Health Professions (CHP) is honored to welcome distinguished alumna, Paule Valery Joseph, PhD, MS, FNP-BC, FAAN, as the guest speaker for the CHP Faculty Colloquium and Reception, November 14, 2022. CHP would like to congratulate her on receiving the Brilliant New Investigator Award from The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science and for being selected as the Inaugural AAN Fellow at the National Academy of Medicine.

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The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is proud to announce that Barbara Ballan has been named the inaugural LLM Sustainable Business Law Fellow of Haub Law’s newly launched Sustainable Business Law Hub. Additionally, Professor Jason Czarnezki was named as the inaugural Faculty Director of the Sustainable Business Law Hub.

The Sustainable Business Law Hub serves 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.

“I am thrilled at the opportunity to be involved with the Sustainable Business Law Hub,” said Ballan. "My research will focus on the need for coordination and coherence in environmental policies at international, national and local scales and their intersection with private environmental governance.” Ballan received her LLB and Post-Graduate Diploma in Environmental Studies from the University of Buenos Aires. She began her legal career specializing in criminal law and worked as an administrative assistant at the Attorney’s General Office in Buenos Aires and also served as a government legal advisor at the Argentinean Ministry of Culture. Ballan’s postgraduate studies focused on sustainable development, while she simultaneously gained experience in the financial technology industry, resulting in a focus on and interest in Sustainable Business Law.

Securing an LLM Graduate Research fellow who will work on scholarly research in the field of sustainability has been an integral component of the Sustainable Business Law Hub and made possible through the support of a grant from Haub Law’s Innovation Fund. The Haub Innovation Fund is part of the generous naming gift to the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, which was made by the Haub Family, tireless environmental advocates and philanthropists. “We are so grateful that with the resources of the Innovation Fund we were able to retain Barbara Ballan’s innovative thinking in sustainability. Barbara will be an integral part of the Sustainable Business Law Hub,” said Hub Advisory Board Member and Associate Director of Environmental Law Programs, Professor Achinthi Vithanage.

The support of the Innovation Fund has assisted with a number of additional important components of the Hub, such as staffing the Hub with an accomplished faculty director focused on sustainability activities and hosting a kick-off event. The continued funding will support other impactful events, including workshops and an annual conference, which is open to members of the academic, business and legal community in the sustainability space. “We now have the support necessary to build the infrastructure needed to create a lasting impact, training future sustainability leaders and amplifying and disseminating best sustainability practices in the business community and the larger world,” said Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law, Associate Dean for Environmental Law Programs and Strategic Initiatives, Professor Jason Czarnezki.

An expert in sustainable business law, Professor Czarnezki was named as the inaugural Faculty Director of the Sustainable Business Law Hub. Czarnezki joined the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University faculty in 2013. He specializes in environmental and natural resources law and policy, and sustainable business strategies, with a particular expertise in sustainable procurement, ESG criteria, eco-labeling, and life cycle assessment and costing. He has written extensively in the field, including his recent article, Sustainable Business Law? The Key Role of Corporate Governance and Finance. “Haub Law’s Sustainable Business Law Hub is already creating the first generation of ESG lawyers,” said Professor Czarnezki. “As the top ranked environmental law program in the nation, we are consistently at the forefront of innovation in the field, and the Hub is another example of that. I am honored to be the inaugural faculty director of such an important and timely program.”

As faculty director of the Hub, Professor Czarnezki’s expertise was integral in the successful launch of the Hub and he continues to focus on its continued and future success. “Program staff now have the time and resources to get the program running and build philanthropic partnerships to ensure the long-term continuation of the Hub long into the future as a comprehensive, impactful, and enduring center of excellence, which is made possible with support from the Innovation Fund.”

The Sustainable Business Law Hub is implementing a rigorous curriculum for students in the program with courses related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and sustainable development, and opportunities for practical experience through internships and externships. Within these settings, the students will work in in-house sustainability and legal departments handling environmental compliance issues, ESG, and assisting with sustainability strategies and policies. Students will then have the opportunity to take the best practices learned through their work with highly developed corporations and sustainability law practices and share that learning with partners in the small business and the nonprofit community, facilitating knowledge transfer and capacity-building in organizations that would otherwise lack the resources to take a sophisticated approach to sustainability efforts.

Pace gets internships. At the New York Botanical Garden, BA in American Studies student Thomas Costella is exploring food justice through the Edible Academy and how the power of community can support food systems in New York City and beyond.

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As we come out of yet another bruising election cycle—this time, for better or for worse, one in which not much ultimately seems to have changed—I find myself impressed anew by the civic commitment and involvement of so many in our Pace Community.

Two weeks ago, we hosted the only debate between Gov. Kathy Hochul and her challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin, in the Schimmel Center on our New York City Campus. It was a great opportunity for Pace, which landed our name and logo in articles and photos around the state and across the country. It also showed our political leaders — and our partners at Spectrum News NY1—what the people of Pace are capable of accomplishing. Our team of student volunteers, under the expert leadership of our Public Affairs team, were perfect hosts and ideal ambassadors for us, and Dyson student Mandi Karpo, editor-in-chief of The Pace Press, was lucky to be the sole student journalist in attendance. Read about her experience.

Elsewhere in this issue of Pace Now, you’ll read about many other kinds of civic engagement at Pace. You’ll learn about Lubin student Nicholas Lotto, a former Marine and president of Pace’s chapter of the Student Veterans of America, who is working to support the mental health of all our student veterans. Our environmental commitment has once again earned Pace recognition on the Princeton Review list of green colleges. You’ll read about the impressive accomplishments of the budding diplomats on our United Nations team. And as the Thanksgiving season approaches, CCAR, which did so much to help make sure our students voted in yesterday’s elections, offers a guide to giving back.

In the spirit of the season, I’m grateful to see that it’s finally turning properly autumnal here in the New York region. The weather is brisk and the leaves are vibrantly colored, but of course it’s also getting dark earlier and earlier. As we move into the winter months, I want us all to remain aware of our mental health and wellbeing. We’ve all been through a very challenging few years, and now we’re entering what is often a tough season. Please take care of yourselves, be kind to yourselves, and reach out for any help you need.

At Pace, we’re all committed to supporting one another. And together we will accomplish great things.

Have a great fall and a happy Thanksgiving—and keep your eye out for Pace’s Giving Tuesday campaign right after the holiday!

For more than a decade, Pace’s Model UN teams have been competing on the national stage. This year was no different! Back again with some more wins under their belts, Pace’s Model UN team shares their winning experience at this year’s national conference in Washington, DC.

The national conference is one of the largest in the country and brings together a multitude of universities for a weekend of intense negotiation and deliberation about a variety of topics of international concern.

“Without downplaying the significance of the student's academic achievement this weekend, I think the thing students will take away from the experience that has the most indelible impact will be the connections and friendships that they have made,” says faculty advisor and Pace assistant professor of Political Science Paul Londrigan. “Participation in Model United Nations had a way of stitching disparate individuals together who may not have otherwise found the occasion to get to know one another. I think that a huge benefit of the program is the way in which it lends itself to the creation of a richer and more textured social fabric for our students.”

“We are very fortunate at Pace to have a tremendously engaged body of students in the political science department. As a result, we have a long history of success and achievement at Model UN conferences,” says Londrigan.

Pace’s team from New York City represented Montenegro and Bolivia, while the Westchester students represented Guatemala. The Pace team won an award for Honorable Delegation for their representation of Bolivia. Several Pace students were also recognized individually at this year’s conference. Jordan O’Connell and Marsela Vucaj won the award for best position paper in their committee and students Jeremiah Williams and Noah Saskowski were recognized by their peers in the committee and were awarded the outstanding delegates in a committee award.

“We are very fortunate at Pace to have a tremendously engaged body of students in the political science department. As a result, we have a long history of success and achievement at Model UN conferences,” says Londrigan. “Despite this winning track record, it never gets old to see the delight on student's faces when they hear that they have won.”

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At the Pace Environmental Law Review (PELR) Symposium held on October 28, PELR announced Haub Law 3L Christen Maccone as the winner of the John R. Nolon Student Writing Competition, held for the first time this year. Christen’s article entitled, Should Environmental Protection be Through Anthropocentric Rights?, addresses the issues with human-centered, instead of eco-centered, environmental rights, in keeping with the Symposium’s theme of “Environmental Constitutionalism.” Christen’s article will be published in the Pace Environmental Law Review next year.

“The law’s protection of the environment is historically tied to humanity’s use of the environment,” said student competition winner, 3L Christen Maccone. “Constitutional environmental rights, while creating a possibility to afford further protection, inevitably fall short in this same way because of the way constitutions work. Through a biocentric approach, better protections can be afforded to the environment, beyond its known worth to humanity. The Professor John R. Nolon Student Writing Competition gives a spotlight for students amongst scholars, advocates, regulators, policymakers, and other practicing professionals, to share their ideas on a growing area of law. This competition serves as proof that students, though still in school and not yet practicing, can be at the forefront of emerging areas of law.”

This annual competition is open to students at law schools throughout the country. The first place award carries the promise of publication in PELR and a $500 scholarship. The competition, named after Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus John Nolon, honors Professor Nolon’s dedication to student scholarship. Professor Nolon supervises student research and publications regarding land use, sustainable development, climate change, housing insecurity, racial inequity, and the coronavirus pandemic at Haub Law. He is also co-counsel to the Law School's Land Use Law Center, which he founded in 1993. He served as Adjunct Professor of land use law and policy at the Yale School of the Environment from 2001–2016. Before he joined the law school faculty, he founded and directed the Housing Action Counsel to foster the development of affordable housing.

Julian Clark ’25 has long been fascinated by religion, and the role it plays in both the lives of individuals and groups. Growing up in the Methodist and Baptist churches, Julian began to think deeply about the endless well of ever-complex issues relating to religion. Eventually, he merged this curiosity with another strong interest of his—film—and as a high schooler, directed a film titled The In-Between Hour, which Julian describes as “an alternate look at the concept of purgatory and the self-expressive presumption of ego.” The film premiered in July 2021, raising $500 for Mental Health America.

When Julian arrived at Pace a few months later, he was planning on taking his interest in film even further, majoring in film and screen studies while planning on using New York City as the ultimate backdrop for movie-making. Yet, the pull of religious study remained strong. In his first semester, Julian took a class titled Introduction to the Study of Religion, taught by Philosophy and Religious Studies Assistant Professor Daniel Barber, PhD. In the class, Julian was able to further explore ideas pertaining to how religious studies is approached. He also became interested in the concept of religious formation around material goods, and the ways in which religions evolve over time to meet the needs of the current moment.

“Religions are and will continue to be made and corrected based off the needs of the current era,” says Julian. “Christianity has evolved dramatically from what it was in the past—it reflects the lives of people now. I wanted to conduct research around the origins of faith, how these practices are meeting the needs of the present, in order to understand how in the past, they were made fit to meet the needs of the past.”

I wanted to conduct research around the origins of faith, how these practices are meeting the needs of the present, in order to understand how in the past, they were made fit to meet the needs of the past.”

Julian’s appetite for further exploration around these topics naturally coincided with his interest in film. After discussing his ideas with Barber—who helped him solidify his focus and offered further research recommendations—Julian developed a research proposal, and was successfully accepted into the Provost’s Summer 2022 Student-Faculty Research program.

His project, Religion and Non-fictitious Film-making: The Fallacy of "Accurate Portrayal", explores the relationship between faith and filming. As Julian uncovered—through both filming sessions around New York City, as well as intense study of religious and film scholars ranging from Trinh Minh-Ha to Jean-Luc Godard to Talal Asad—this relationship is inevitably fraught, as faith is a task unobtainable for film-makers to wholly capture. Julian likened it to an unspoken violation of a moral code.

“What I started to realize was that there was no real way that I could document a participant's experience without infringing on a moral code. This idiosyncratic connection is something that you’ll never truly be able to capture the truth of someone’s relationship as a foreigner to these credences—especially with something like religion, which is so incredibly personal, and so complexly tied to such a shared social context, that it ends up preventing diligent film-making from those who seek it.”

Julian’s experiences culminated in an academic research paper in which he explores this relationship in great detail—as well as the ways in which religious connectivity can and cannot be captured through film. In addition to possibly submitting the paper for academic publication, the experience has reframed how he approaches filmmaking, as well as his Pace experience going forward—fittingly, Julian is now a double major in both Film and Screen Studies and Philosophy and Religious studies.

As he continues both his collegiate and filmmaking career, he hopes to take what he’s learned from his experiences and research to push and explore boundaries in the unique space where filmmaking and religious studies co-exist.

“The research really inspired me to go deeper, and not just look at the formation of religion, but to think about faith as a unique social experience,” said Julian. It changed how I am going to film moving forward.”