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Renowned environmental law and policy expert David M. Driesen named University Professor at SUApril 10, 2008Jaclyn D. Grossojgrosso@law.syr.edu

David M. Driesen, a leading scholar and expert on environmental law and policy, has been appointed a University Professor at Â鶹ƵµÀUniversity, effective July 1, 2008.

Driesen was previously named an Angela S. Cooney Professor of Law at the SU College of Law and holds an affiliate position in SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; he is also an adjunct professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. University Professor is the highest faculty rank at Â鶹ƵµÀUniversity; Driesen is only the 13th individual in the history of the institution to hold the rank.

As a University Professor, Driesen will advance cross-disciplinary scholarship and programs while maintaining his faculty position at the College of Law, where he teaches environmental law.

“This is a very well-deserved appointment, as David is an innovative and pre-eminent scholar. Just as importantly, this is a clear statement about our intention to have a broad and inclusive strength in the environmental area that includes law and policy in addition to first-rate science and engineering,” says SU Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric F. Spina. “As a University Professor, David will play a strong role in both curriculum development and research that will enable us to create a nationally significant program. I look forward to his leadership contributions alongside those of faculty from Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Computer Science, Maxwell and our colleagues from SUNY-ESF.”

“Professor Driesen’s international reputation as a path-breaking scholar in the critical area of environmental law has been built on creativity and interdisciplinary thinking, in addition to profound research,” says SU College of Law Dean Hannah R. Arterian. “I applaud the appointment and look forward to the direction in which it will take him, our college and our University.”

Prior to joining SU, Driesen worked in Washington, D.C., as a senior project attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Air and Energy Program. Before that, Driesen was an assistant attorney general for the Washington State Attorney General’s Office and served as a law clerk to Judge Robert Utter of the Washington State Supreme Court.

He is co-author of the acclaimed book “Environmental Law: A Conceptual and Pragmatic Approach” (Aspen Publishers, 2007). His first book, “The Economic Dynamics of Environmental Law” (MIT Press, 2003), received the American Political Science Association’s Lynton Keith Caldwell Award in 2003; this annual award recognizes the best book published in science, technology and environmental studies. He has also written numerous articles that have appeared in Cornell Law Review, Ecology Law Quarterly and other leading journals.

“I’m very pleased that the University has decided to recognize my scholarly work in this way,” Driesen says. “I view this as a terrific opportunity to broaden that work to benefit the University.”

Driesen holds a bachelor of music degree from Oberlin Conservatory, a master of music degree from the Yale School of Music, and a juris doctor from the Yale Law School, where he was an Olin Fellow and an editor of the International Law Journal.

He is a member of the editorial board of the Carbon and Climate Law Review, published in Berlin, and a member scholar of the Center for Progressive Reform.