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Catherine Gonzalez (née Peña ) '15 began navigating the immigration system from an early age as an immigrant child. Born in San Jose de las Matas, a small town in the Dominican Republic, Catherine remained there until she was nine. Catherine recalls, “It was all I knew, and once I immigrated I was separated from my mother and from the only family I knew. I found myself in a big, strange world in New York City, with a new and strange language to match. Despite those struggles, immigrating offered me invaluable opportunities. This early exposure to immigration introduced me to the bureaucracies of the American immigration system—from consulates to individual immigration officers. As I pursued higher education, I decided I wanted to become a lawyer because I wanted to help the people of my community. I am proud to say I am now the first and only lawyer in my family.”

Once she was in college, Catherine pursued internships with lawyers and sought to learn all she could to forge a path for herself in the law. “I gravitated toward immigrant rights issues. I volunteered at an Immigrant Rights Law Clinic in college and worked with a criminal defense attorney who worked as assigned counsel on state and federal cases.” Once she was at Haub Law, Catherine volunteered anywhere she could to gain additional experience with immigration law and in trial advocacy, having several impactful experiences along the way. “One of the most impactful professors I had the privilege of meeting and working with at ���ҹ����� was Professor Louis Fasulo. Professor Fasulo and The Advocacy Program – its academic curriculum as well as the moot court and mock trial competitions – were integral to helping me hone the skills I now use daily as a public defender. I am eternally grateful to Loretta Musial, Professor Fasulo, and The Advocacy Program at ���ҹ����� for teaching, guiding, and supporting me. It is in large part thanks to all of them that I wake up every day to do work I love and am passionate about,” noted Catherine.

“I gravitated toward immigrant rights issues. I volunteered at an Immigrant Rights Law Clinic in college and worked with a criminal defense attorney who worked as assigned counsel on state and federal cases.”

After she graduated from Haub Law, Catherine began her legal career in the Criminal Defense Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS), representing clients against criminal charges. It was there she found herself gravitating toward cases that resonated with her, often those that involved immigration-related issues. Today, Catherine is a Supervising Immigration Attorney & Policy Counsel in the Criminal Defense Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services. “I witnessed how the criminal legal system funnels people into the immigration deportation system, which led me to join BDS’s Padilla Team where I advise clients and attorneys about the immigration consequences of criminal and family court cases and represent non-citizens fighting to remain in the US.”

Recently, Haub Law’s Trial Advocacy Program at the 2022 Gavel Gala honored Catherine with the Rising Star Award. “I feel so honored to have been selected to receive the Rising Star Award. When I was a little girl, newly arrived in the United States, I began to dream of becoming a lawyer. Based on what I saw on television, I imagined myself standing in a courtroom, vehemently defending the rights of people during some of the most challenging times in their lives. Years later, working at Brooklyn Defender Services I feel incredibly privileged. There, as a public defender, I have been able to work toward accomplishing this dream of being an advocate for the people in my community. I really wake up every day with that same goal I envisioned years ago – unapologetically committed to ensuring that people's most basic rights are protected. Receiving the Rising Star Award serves as an affirmation for all of the hard work and sacrifices that were integral to achieving my goals and dreams.”

Professor Jonathan Brown has been named the recipient of the 2022 Ottinger Award for Faculty Achievement. The Richard Ottinger Faculty Achievement Award is awarded annually by the Faculty Development Committee, in consultation with the Dean, in recognition of a full-time professor’s outstanding service to the law school, the legal profession, or both. The award generally is based on the faculty member’s outstanding service during the previous academic year.

In announcing the award to Professor Brown, Professor Leslie Y. Garfield Tenzer, as chair of the Faculty Development Committee, remarked:

“This past year, Jonathan Brown has done incredible work bringing new funding for our Food and Farm Business Law Clinic. Through this hard work and lobbying, he secured significant additional funding for the Clinic. His work and this funding raised the profile of the clinic across the state, allowed the clinic to retain a staff attorney that we hired last year and to make an additional hire to assist with the administrative and programmatic work of the clinic, freeing up Professor Brown and the staff attorney to have more time for students and clients, and further expanding the reach of the clinic by allowing for a broader capacity for intake and referrals. Professor Brown’s work is good for current students, for clinic clients, for the food system across New York state, and as the clinic’s reputation grows, it is good for attracting new students to ���ҹ�����. Thank you, Professor Brown!”

The Ottinger Award for Faculty Achievement is named in honor of Richard L. Ottinger, who served in the United States House of Representatives for eight terms, from 1965 to 1971 and from 1975 to 1985. Ottinger was Dean of the Law School from 1994 to 1999 and is the founder of the ���ҹ����� Energy Project, now known as the ���ҹ����� Energy and Climate Center.

Jonathan Brown has been a member of the ���ҹ����� faculty since 2016. He is the founder and director of the school’s Food and Farm Business Law Clinic (formerly the Food and Beverage Law Clinic), which launched in January 2017. The Food and Farm Business Law Clinic provides pro bono transactional legal services to small farm businesses, artisan food manufacturers, craft beverage entrepreneurs, and related nonprofit organizations. Through this work, the Clinic seeks to facilitate the development of a more just and sustainable regional food system and economy. Prior to joining the ���ҹ����� faculty, Professor Brown was a Clinical Lecturer in Law and Eugene Ludwig/Robert M. Cover Fellow in Law at Yale Law School, where he co-taught the Community and Economic Development Clinic. Previously, Brown was a senior associate at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, in New York. Professor Brown serves on the board of the Northeastern Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY), New York’s leading non‐profit organization providing programs and services to promote sustainable, local organic food and farming.

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���ҹ����� Distinguished Professor Bennett L. Gershman was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the New York Law Journal’s 2022 New York Legal Awards on Thursday, October 6. The New York Legal Awards honor attorneys who have made an impact on the legal community and the practice of law over an entire career. Professor Gershman is one of 10 distinguished honorees to receive the 2022 Lifetime Achievement accolade in recognition of his decades of service in the field of law and his record of extensive, extraordinary research, scholarship and teaching.

Professor Gershman has led a remarkable career as prosecutor, scholar and teacher. His pioneering work in prosecutorial ethics has influenced reform in our criminal justice system,” said Horace E. Anderson Jr., Dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. “As an exceptional educator for the past 48 years, his knowledge and passion have helped to shape the future of our profession.

Professor Gershman has been a professor of law at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law since its founding as the ���ҹ����� Law School in 1976. Prior to coming to ���ҹ�����, he was a prosecutor in the New York State Anti-Corruption Office, where he argued cases in state and federal courts involving public and political officials charged with corruption.

Professor Gershman has written four books, over 100 articles in law journals, and hundreds of book reviews, essays, and op-ed pieces. His treatise, Prosecutorial Misconduct, initially published in 1985 and now in its 2nd edition, has become a preeminent resource for scholars and practitioners seeking guidance on wrongful convictions.

As a leading authority in the country on prosecutorial misconduct, Gershman is continuously called upon by the news media for his expertise. He has served as an expert witness on prosecutorial misconduct in numerous criminal cases and devoted much of his time to training prosecutors and judges.

Professor Gershman was named a ���ҹ����� Distinguished Professor in 2020, the highest honor the University bestows upon faculty. He has been a recipient of the Law School’s Outstanding Professor of the Year award eight times in the past 20 years. In addition, his lifetime work was recognized in a special edition of the Ohio State Journal of Criminal law dedicated to and “In Honor of Prof. Bennett L. Gershman” in 2019.

Thomas Hoffman, a lawyer who has spent his career devoted to the exoneration of innocent people, outlined Professor Gershman’s successful career in an article for the New York Law Journal, reflecting on his extraordinary expertise as a leading resource for scholars, practitioners and judges regarding the proper and ethical role of a prosecutor. He writes, “Professor Bennett L. Gershman has devoted his career to the ideal of equal justice for all. His body of work and accomplishments are revolutionary. Yet he is humble and unpretentious. When asked to name his greatest accomplishment, he replied, ‘I was able to retain my integrity.’”

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“Any major in Dyson who wants to engage in research and scholarship, there needs to be an opportunity to present that and engage with others.”

These are the words of Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Society of Fellows Judith Pajo, PhD. Ever since becoming a member of the ���ҹ����� Community over a decade ago, Pajo has been heavily involved in the Society of Fellows—the premier honors organization housed within Dyson that continues to push the boundaries of student and faculty scholarship, interdisciplinary research, and conversation across a diverse range of fields.

Comprising more than 700 Fellows across its 42-year history, the Society of Fellows is a storied organization that stretches deep into the past—consisting of current students, faculty, as well as a large contingent of active alumni. Each year, the Society inducts a new class of students who exemplifies the ideals of liberal education and a commitment to undergraduate scholarship.

One recent inductee, Kailey Liddell ’23, considers her involvement in the Society of Fellows to be one of the most formative of her college experience.

“Being an artistic person, rather than a science or mathematical person, you don’t really hear a lot about research opportunities that you can actually do,” said Liddell. “When I found out my creative documentary was considered something valuable for other people to learn and listen to, that really expanded my own perception of what I could do with my major and my interests.”

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Liddell was first invited to present at the Society of Fellows’ Annual Meeting—the organization’s showcase event every spring where students present their scholarship completed under the supervision of faculty mentors. Liddell was first invited in 2021 after Assistant Professor in Media and Communication Studies Melvin Williams, PhD, encouraged her to submit a short film she had made about race and representation, specifically addressing the lack of biracial characters in children’s media. This past spring, she was invited back as a plenary presenter for research she conducted under the supervision of Professor of English Sid Ray, PhD, and was formally inducted in the Society of Fellows.

The Annual Meeting showcases the outstanding work of students, but just as instrumental to the success of the Society of Fellows is a group of dedicated and encouraging faculty. On the faculty side, Pajo believes it is essential to promote the intellectual curiosity of bright students like Liddell, who intuitively understand that learning isn’t confined to the classroom.

“There’s always going to be one or two students who stand out in each course, because they want to do more research than what happens to be assigned that semester,” notes Pajo. “I think the Society of Fellows is an outlet for students who don’t feel like the research is done once the course is done and they got their grade—they want to do more, they want to reach a wider audience so that their research makes an impact.”

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In addition to the Annual Meeting, the Society also holds an annual Weekend Seminar every fall to discuss a particular interdisciplinary issue in depth. This year’s seminar, which will be held in Connecticut on the weekend of October 28, is centered around the question Can Computers Make Art?, and will feature a panel of faculty and alumni from both art and mathematics about the role of machines in the creative process.

As Pajo notes, seminars often start out with an academic question that requires interdisciplinary conversation—something the Society is readily equipped to dive into.

“This particular year, the idea for the seminar topic started out with Mathematics Professor Meng Xu, who was reading about some people using the statistical programming language R to create art,” said Pajo. “Normally R is used for charts, and graphs, and statistics. He wanted to get students to use R to create art but also wanted to collaborate with faculty in art for this project so he came to the Fellows.”

In addition to fostering dialogue about a wide range of issues—and simply being a place where scholarship and intellectual curiosity can grow, students over the years have found the experience to have valuable practical benefits. Liddell, for one, has noticed how the niche ideas and topics she has been exposed to through the Fellows has been useful for interviews, and has significantly strengthened her confidence in terms of conducting research and applying for grants.

“Participating in the Fellows is a great way to get higher-level academic experiences,” added Liddell. “You build relationships with faculty, get great presentation experience, and build public speaking skills. It helps you learn how to be an upper-level learner.”

“You build relationships with faculty, get great presentation experience, and build public speaking skills. It helps you learn how to be an upper-level learner.”

Above all, the Society of Fellows fosters an environment in which intellectual curiosity, mentorship, and a commitment to great scholarship is not only encouraged, but is celebrated—in turn, broadening the richness of the ���ҹ����� experience for faculty, students, and alumni alike.

“We really value tackling problems of society from multiple angles,” says Pajo. “Any one student can’t do all of that, so by bringing students and faculty together, we try to evaluate those problems that academia is here to help solve.

Award-Winning author, filmmaker to discuss career, expansive body of works in Pleasantville on Nov. 10, 2022

Proceeds to Benefit ���ҹ�����’s OASIS Program

, the New York Times bestselling author of Freedom, Tribe, and The Perfect Storm, will speak at ���ҹ�����’s Pleasantville campus at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2022.

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The event, called “Sebastian Junger: In Conversation with ���ҹ�����,” is being held in connection with the University’s Veteran’s Day festivities. Junger, a longtime war reporter, writer for Vanity Fair, and ABC News correspondent, is renowned for his eloquent and thought-provoking documentaries and books that explore the challenges and stresses of combat. He is co-director of the documentary film Restrepo, which was nominated for an Academy Award and winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. He is also winner of a Peabody Award and the National Magazine Award for Reporting. His book, The Perfect Storm, was made into a feature-length movie starring George Clooney, Mark Walhberg, and Diane Lane.

“���ҹ����� is pleased to welcome Sebastian Junger to campus and eager to engage in what will be a timely, thought-provoking, and important discussion,” ���ҹ����� President Marvin Krislov said. “Our community of students, veterans, and staff will no doubt appreciate his insights learned from decades of experience and impressive body of work. We’re grateful to our partner Scattered Books for making this a reality and for their continued support of our OASIS program.”

Tickets are $30 and include a signed copy of either Freedom or Tribe. Students and Veterans are free; they have the option of purchasing a book separately.

A portion of proceeds from book sales will go toward ���ҹ�����’s OASIS program, which provides comprehensive support services for students with high functioning autism and those with other learning challenges who would like to fulfill their dream of furthering their education.

The discussion and book-signing are brought to the community in partnership with , an independent bookstore in Chappaqua. Jerry McKinstry, a former reporter, and senior director of public affairs at ���ҹ�����, will moderate the discussion.

“Since my early years as a reporter, I’ve been a student and admirer of Sebastian Junger’s impressive collection of works,” McKinstry said. “There’s a lot of ground to cover and I know the ���ҹ����� community is excited to welcome him to our campus for what we expect will be an interesting discussion and insightful evening.”

About ���ҹ�����

Since 1906, ���ҹ����� has educated thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, ���ҹ����� has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lubin School of Business, College of Health Professions, School of Education, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

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