WHITE PLAINS , NY – Pace Law School students Denise Leong ‘08, Christina Miranda ’07, and Manuel Ronquillo ‘07 were awarded three of the four Minority Fellowships in Environmental Law by the New York State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section. The fourth went to a student at The University of Maryland School of Law. The awards were announced at the Annual Winter Meeting of the NYSBA in the Environmental Law Section luncheon on January 28, 2006, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City .

The NYSBA also honored Peter Casper ’01 at the luncheon for his leadership as cochair of the NYSBA’s Environmental Justice Committee and for his work in support of the Minority Fellowship program to encourage diversity. New York Times environmental reporter Andrew C. Revkin was the guest speaker for the crowd of 375 lawyers, the NYS DEC Commission, and students. The event was attended by Professor Nicholas Robinson and Visiting Professor Irma Russell.

“Because environmental law must serve the needs of all our communities, it is important that the ranks of environmental lawyers represent the diversity that makes up our population,” said Lee Paddock, director of Environmental Law Programs. “We are pleased that these three Pace students will have a special opportunity to use their skills and learn new skills through the Minority Fellowship program.”

The students will receive a $6,000 stipend to spend a minimum of 10 weeks during the summer working on legal matters for a government environmental agency or public interest environmental organization in New York State . They will also participate in meetings of the state bar’s Environmental Law Section and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York ’s Environmental Law Committee during the year, and will be assigned a mentor from the environmental bar for the summer. To be eligible, fellows must be minority law students who are either enrolled in a New York State law school or are New York State permanent residents enrolled in a national law school. A panel consisting of judges from the city and state bar associations reviewed applications.

Past fellowship recipients have worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the state Department of Law, and other environmental organizations such as Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Minority Fellowship Program was established in 1992 and is a joint project of the Environmental Law Section of the NYSBA and the Environmental Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York . Since the beginning of the program, 49 students have received fellowships. Funding is provided by the State Bar, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York , and the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, as well as by private foundations.

Founded in 1976, Pace University School of Law has nearly 5,000 alumni/ae throughout the country. It offers full- and part-time day and evening JD programs on its White Plains, N.Y., campus. The School also offers the Master of Laws in Environmental Law and in Comparative Legal Studies. The School, which has one of the nation's top-rated environmental law programs, also offers the SJD program in that field. The School of Law is part of a comprehensive, independent and diversified University with campuses in New York City and Westchester County. 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