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Dean Emerita and Professor Michelle S. Simon has been named the recipient of Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University’s 2025 Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes that outstanding pedagogy occurs in a variety of settings at the Law School—it can be found in courses of all sizes and types, in teachers with diverse styles, and across subject matters. Each spring, the Faculty Development Committee selects as a recipient of the award a member of the tenured or tenure-track faculty or a visiting professor with a contract longer than one year in duration. The award typically is based on the faculty member’s teaching during the current academic year.

Professor Katrina Fischer Kuh, chair of the Faculty Development Committee, remarked: “Year after year, Dean Emerita and Director of Legal Skills, Professor Michelle Simon, makes important contributions to the development of our Legal Skills curriculum. In an ever-evolving world, Professor Simon demonstrates a willingness and capacity to experiment with and refine new approaches to scheduling and the use of technology to accommodate the diverse needs of our school and students. Professor Simon recognizes that evolving with and prioritizing our students is tantamount to the success of all; she is very much beloved by both her students and colleagues at Haub Law.”

“I am honored to have been selected by my peers to receive this special recognition,” said Professor Simon. “The Legal Skills curriculum at Haub Law has always been a passion of mine – not just ensuring it stays relevant, but that we are taking innovative approaches and remain one step of the curve. Our Legal Skills curriculum encompasses the fundamental skills of lawyers – research, writing, citation, analysis, and more. As technology evolves in the legal arena, we must also, and as a result it has always been a goal of mine to match our approaches and tools at Haub Law with practicality and ease, thereby preparing our students for the legal atmosphere they enter upon graduation.”

Professor Michelle Simon served as the dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University from 2008–2014, after serving as interim Dean during the 2007–2008 academic year. She has been a member of the Haub Law faculty since 1985 and also served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for six years. Professor Simon is one of the primary architects of an innovative legal writing curriculum that integrates doctrinal law with skills training. She currently teaches Civil Procedure, Torts, Federal Courts and Conflict of Laws. Her other teaching areas include Criminal Law Legal Skills, and Education Law. Professor Simon’s substantive expertise lies in the areas of civil procedure, torts, conflict of laws, federal courts, criminal law and matters concerning secondary and higher education. She is the faculty director of the first-year legal skills program, and specializes in studying how first-year students learn. Professor Simon has written numerous articles and book chapters on these topics.

Prior to joining the Haub Law faculty, Professor Simon served a law clerk for U.S. Magistrate Judge Honorable A. Simon Chrein (EDNY) and practiced law for several years at Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP, where she specialized in products liability litigation. She is an honors graduate of Syracuse University College of Law, where she served as Senior Lead Articles Editor of the Syracuse Law Review.