Guest panelists include environmental leaders Gus Speth, Roger Martella, Deborah Markowitz
The Board of Trustees of Vermont Law School invites community members to a Presidential Installation Ceremony for Thomas J.P. McHenry, the school’s ninth president and dean, at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, on the South Royalton Green with a reception immediately following on the VLS campus. Prior to the ceremony, VLS will present a panel discussion on “Environmental Law for the Community and the World,” underpinning the VLS motto and mission, at 2 p.m. in Chase Community Center on the VLS campus. Installation events are open to the public and press and will be live-streamed at vermontlaw.edu/live.
McHenry began his term as president and dean in July, succeeding Marc B. Mihaly. Formerly a partner with Gibson Dunn in Los Angeles, Calif., McHenry brings 30 years of environmental and administrative law practice to VLS, the nation’s top-ranked environmental law school.
“We hope the greater Vermont Law School community will join us as we welcome Tom McHenry as our president and dean and esteemed leaders in the law to discuss contemporary environmental issues that affect all of us,” said VLS Board Chair Christopher Dutton. “Tom’s leadership is marked by his commitment to environmental stewardship, locally and globally, and to strengthening and enhancing Vermont Law School programs in areas ranging from environmental law to restorative justice. His service to VLS continues a long line of exceptional leadership at the school and reflects our commitment to developing the next generation who will use the power of the law to make a difference.”
Nationally recognized environmental leaders will bring a variety of perspectives to the “Environmental Law for the Community and the World” panel discussion. Guest panelists include Gus Speth, co-founder of the New Economy Law Center, former administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, and co-founder and former senior attorney of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Speth will be joined by Roger Martella, an environmental attorney for General Electric and former general counsel for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the George W. Bush administration, and Deborah Markowitz, a visiting professor of environmental policy at The University of Vermont and former secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. VLS Associate Dean David Mears, director of the Environmental Law Center, will moderate the panel.
In addition to the ceremony and panel, VLS will honor the memory of Geoffrey Shields, the school’s seventh president and dean, with a Shields Memorial Dedication at 11:30 a.m. in the Outdoor Classroom on the VLS campus.
For more information, including a full schedule of events, visit vermontlaw.edu/installation, email Kim Harris at kharris@vermontlaw.edu, or call 802-831-1225.
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Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, is home to the nation’s largest and deepest environmental law program. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; three Master’s Degrees—Master of Environmental Law and Policy, Master of Energy Regulation and Law, and Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy; and four post-JD degrees —LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, LLM in Environmental Law, and LLM in Food and Agriculture Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, South Royalton Legal Clinic, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Energy Clinic, Food and Agriculture Clinic, and Center for Applied Human Rights. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.