On September 24, the Stein Scholars Program in Public Interest Law and Ethics Program honored former faculty director and current Fordham Law legal ethics and criminal law professor, Bruce Green. Green was awarded with the Stein Scholars “In the Service of Others” Award for his outstanding leadership of the Stein Scholars Program. The award recognizes his overall leadership and commitment to shaping the values and ethics of students and alumni.
Started in 1992, with Green as one of the founding faculty directors, the Stein Scholars Program encourages and prepares students interested in pursuing the practice of law in public service with offerings that include externships and other experiential-learning environments, academic courses focusing on public interest and social justice work, exposure to public interest practitioners, and the development of a strong public interest community of current students and alumni. Professor Green has been instrumental in making these opportunities available to Stein students.
Three Stein Program alumni—Susan Cordaro ’04, James Gatta ’02, and Susan Welber ’98—delivered remarks for the occasion. Each expressed their appreciation for Professor Green’s accessibility to students and to alumni and his continued focus on acting in an advisory capacity to so many. Dean Matthew Diller and Professor Russell Pearce supported this notion, recognizing how Green has benefitted Stein Program participants and the greater legal profession through scholarship and service.
Aisha Baruni, Director of Public Interest Scholars & Counseling who now oversees the Stein Scholars Program, attests to the role that the Stein Scholars Program has played in transforming Fordham’s reputation, “as a place that nurtures and supports public interest work.”
Of the honor, Professor Green shared, “I’m eternally grateful to Lou Stein and John Feerick for establishing the program 27 years ago. I could not have imagined then that working with the Stein Scholars, along with my talented colleagues, would become the centerpiece and highlight of my teaching career.”