The last issue of The Law School began the practice of focusing on one substantive area of law in which NYU School of Law has extraordinary strengths. Last year, we described how the Law School’s standing as the leader in international legal education following the founding of the Hauser Global Law School Program in 1994 had been solidified by the recent addition of several outstanding professors to an already extraordinary faculty and by the creation of the Institute for International Law and Justice and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice.

In this issue, we highlight our environmental and land use program. As a faculty member in this area, I marvel at my world-class faculty colleagues, seriously committed students, rich array of curricular offerings, and path-breaking research. The strength of our program ensures that our graduates will have the intellectual tools, problem-solving skills, and practical experience necessary to be leaders in national and international efforts to tackle the serious environmental threats that plague us. At the same time, the Law School’s dedication to enabling diverse forms of scholarship guarantees that our faculty will continue to have a significant impact on the development of public policy.

I am confident that an independent peer review would conclude that, among the leading law schools in the country, we have the strongest programs in international law and in environmental and land use law. In the coming years, we will write about other programs that meet this ambitious standard.

Our other feature, “Public Interest: Yesterday and Today,” focuses on the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program, which has produced many outstanding leaders in diverse sectors of the legal profession who share an overarching commitment to public service. This academic year marks the 50th anniversary of the graduation of the first Root-Tilden class — a wonderful reason for celebration. Through the Root-Tilden-Kern program and our other public interest initiatives, we further our goal of becoming not only the leading law school, but also the law school that leads in public service by providing the education, scholarship, and vision needed to improve our nation and the world.