Hofstra Announces William R. Ginsberg Environmental Law Fellowship

Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, N.Y. —

Hofstra Law School and the Estate of Marian O. Naumburg have established The William R. Ginsberg Memorial Summer Fellowship in Environmental Law to honor the professor who taught at Hofstra for 29 years.  The first recipient will be named in 2010.

“I am so proud that we are able to honor Professor William Ginsberg through this fellowship, which will give law students the opportunity to pursue a summer internship at the Natural Resources Defense Council, or other government or not-for-profit environmental organization,” said Hofstra Law Dean Nora V. Demleitner.  “This fellowship will pay tribute to Professor Ginsberg’s life work, his dedication to Hofstra Law School, the environmental law field and the preservation of open space in New York and across the country.”

The fellowship was announced in March, during the Annual William R. Ginsberg Memorial Alumni Dinner, hosted by Hofstra’s Environmental Law Society (ELS) and presented in conjunction with the Energy and the Environment: Empowering Consumers conference.

As the Rivkin Radler Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law, Ginsberg was a highly respected and beloved teacher, scholar, mentor and activist.  He joined the Hofstra Law faculty in 1974, creating the school’s first course in environmental law during a time when no textbooks and few laws covered the subject.  Professor Ginsberg is counted among the inventors of the field of environmental law and credited for inspiring its tremendous growth.

In addition to his teaching career, Professor Ginsberg worked in private practice and in government positions including two years as New York City’s Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs under Mayor John Lindsay. 
In 2007, Hofstra Law School acquired Professor Ginsberg’s papers, which are a resource for those interested in the evolution and development of environmental law and land use policy over the last 30 years.  The collection, a generous gift from Professor Ginsberg's family, includes a wide range of publications in environmental law and land use, as well as some of his personal papers.  The materials were added to books and papers Professor Ginsberg donated to Hofstra’s Barbara and Maurice A. Deane Law Library to create the William R. Ginsberg Special Collection.