RWU Media Room

This entry was posted on November 3, 2009, filed under: Community, Featured, RWU School of Law. | There are 1 Comments. |

When Rhode Island Governor Donald A. Carcieri signed a bill today outlawing indoor prostitution in Rhode Island, the first-year law student whose efforts were instrumental in securing the law’s passage was on hand by special invitation.

Melanie Shapiro, 22, a current student at Roger Williams University School of Law who co-founded and co-directs Citizens Against Trafficking, has been confronting the issue of indoor prostitution in Rhode Island for years. Working together with Professor Donna Hughes of the University of Rhode Island, she played a key role in getting the issue front-and-center before the state legislature and urging its passage into law.

Shapiro’s numerous penetrating and detailed reports on the issues circulated widely among law enforcement personnel and members of the Rhode Island General Assembly prior to the historic vote. Most of these reports are available on the Citizens Against Trafficking website; one of the more comprehensive, titled “Sex Trafficking and Decriminalized Prostitution Indoors in Rhode Island,” can be read online.

“When you legalize something, you legitimize it,” Shapiro says. “And I could never stand behind legitimizing something so inherently dangerous to women and children. Rhode Island was part of an international legislative debate about prostitution. The whole world was watching. This change here will have policy implications throughout the world for countries like India, which were on the verge of decriminalization.”

Shapiro’s strong opinions and hands-on, confrontational approach to the issue have often put her into the line of fire, and she has a dramatic story to tell. “I have experienced a lot of backlash and direct confrontation with pimps, madams, managers and other perpetrators; as well as verbal and print attacks from the opposition,” she notes.

The Rhode Island bill’s sponsors, Rep. Joanne M. Giannini, D-Providence, and Sen. Paul V. Jabour, D-Providence, have publicly acknowledged Shapiro’s positive influence on the bill’s passage. Her report and many other writings on the topic have circulated within the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and many other organizations. She has been widely quoted by news organizations including the Providence Journal, the National Review and the Associated Press, and has appeared on local radio television networks, and interviewed for background by such publications as the Wall Street Journal.

About RWU Law: The Roger Williams University School of Law is the only law school in Rhode Island, and offers future attorneys a rigorous, world-class legal education in a supportive, personalized environment. A top-notch faculty and strong student culture, plus a commitment to public service, drive the school’s rapidly growing reputation for preparing graduates for practice in the 21st century.

About RWU: Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 40 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. Under the leadership of President Roy J. Nirschel, Ph.D., the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report named RWU the seventh-ranked baccalaureate college in the north.

This entry was posted on October 26, 2009, filed under: Academic, Featured, RWU School of Law. | There are No Comments. |

WHAT: The legal profession is changing rapidly, and it is hard to predict what the landscape will be like in a decade, five years or even one year. But one factor is certain: there will be ever more women in the profession, wielding ever more influence. It is therefore important to think both deeply and broadly about the cultural and substantive shifts the profession is facing, and how lawyers and employers can successfully position themselves for the new realities of law practice in the 21st century.

RWU Law’s “Women Who Lead” Series, spanning the 2009-10 academic year, will offer lectures, symposia and other events that spotlight the important works of women attorneys, while also addressing ongoing challenges such as “breaking the glass ceiling” and achieving work/family balance. Topics will include women on the bench, women in public interest law, various career paths and factors that make a given law firm culture attractive to women lawyers.

WHO: The Honorable Margaret H. Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts will open the Women Who Lead series with an address on “Our American Constitutions: Models for the 21st Century.” First appointed as an Associate Justice in 1996, Marshall was sworn in as Chief Justice in 1999. She is only the second woman to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court in its more than 300-year history and is the first woman to serve as Chief Justice. In November 2003, she handed down the landmark decision in Goodridge v. Department of Health, requiring equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians.

WHEN: Thursday, October 29, 2009
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: Roger Williams University School of Law
Bristol, Rhode Island
Appellate Courtroom 283

About RWU Law: The Roger Williams University School of Law is the only law school in Rhode Island, and offers future attorneys a rigorous, world-class legal education in a supportive, personalized environment. A top-notch faculty and strong student culture, plus a commitment to public service, drive the school’s rapidly growing reputation for preparing graduates for practice in the 21st century.

About RWU: Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 40 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. Under the leadership of President Roy J. Nirschel, Ph.D., the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report named RWU the seventh-ranked baccalaureate college in the north.

This entry was posted on October 26, 2009, filed under: Academic, Featured, RWU School of Law. | There are No Comments. |

A prominent Rhode Island attorney was honored Thursday for a $250,000 challenge gift supporting Roger Williams University School of Law in its mission to increase pro bono legal services for the state’s most needy and vulnerable communities.

Providence lawyer Mark Mandell was recognized at a Bristol reception hosted by Roger Williams University President Roy J. Nirschel, Ph.D., and Dean David A. Logan of RWU School of Law, for his generous support of the Law School’s Pro Bono Collaborative (PBC), a program that facilitates public interest collaborations between local law firms, community organizations and students at Roger Williams University School of Law.

“From our undergraduate through our graduate programs, and very much including our School of Law, Roger Williams University is dedicated to cultivating globally aware, service-minded citizens who want to create a more just, equitable and sustainable world,” President Nirschel said. “The PBC’s invaluable work goes to the very heart of that mission.”

Mandell agreed. “Doing pro bono work combines the reality of legal justice with the principles of social justice, and what can mean more than that?” he said.

The PBC partners Rhode Island law firms and RWU law students with community-based organizations to provide project-based pro bono legal assistance to some of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable populations. Since its inception in 2006, the PBC has engaged 10 law firms, more than 50 attorneys and 60 law students, and 28 community-based organizations to provide pro bono legal services. To date it has leveraged approximately 500 hours of pro bono service from the Rhode Island legal community, including some of its top firms. RWU Law students have, for their part, contributed 1,900 hours of work.

“To my knowledge, the PBC is the only pro bono program in the country that provides legal service to low-income people through this sort of three-way collaboration between law firms, a law school and community organizations,” said Dean Logan.

In addition, Mandell’s gift lays out a matching challenge to the Rhode Island legal community to effectively double his donation. Eliza Vorenberg, director of the PBC, noted that the timing of Mandell’s gift and challenge fortuitously coincides with the American Bar Association’s National Pro Bono Celebration Week (Oct. 25 through 31, 2009), which is dedicated to “educating the public and recruiting more pro bono attorneys to meet the ever-growing legal needs of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” and thereby helping to “make equal justice a reality.”

Mandell said the PBC’s work illustrates the attitude and willingness to innovate that makes RWU Law so vital to Rhode Island’s bar and bench. “The law school is a beacon for all judges, attorneys and citizens who are participants in our system of justice,” he said. “I think that RWU Law is as important as any academic institution in the state of Rhode Island.”

Mandell, a former president of both the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), currently sits on the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel and has served on the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Judicial Appointments, among many other posts. A longtime supporter of RWU Law, Mandell not only teaches trial advocacy at the school, but also sits on its advisory board and in 2008 joined its Board of Directors. In addition, he is the proud father of Zach Mandell, a second-year law student at Roger Williams; and this fall he was welcomed onto Roger Williams University’s Board of Trustees.

“I’ve always believed in the Abraham Lincoln approach to law,” Mandell said. “You do it with honor and integrity, you represent your clients as zealously as possible, and you give back. It’s great to make a living, but the thread that winds through all of it is serving the public good.”

About RWU Law: The Roger Williams University School of Law is the only law school in Rhode Island, and offers future attorneys a rigorous, world-class legal education in a supportive, personalized environment. A top-notch faculty and strong student culture, plus a commitment to public service, drive the school’s rapidly growing reputation for preparing graduates for practice in the 21st century.

About RWU: Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 40 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. Under the leadership of President Roy J. Nirschel, Ph.D., the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report named RWU the seventh-ranked baccalaureate college in the north.

This entry was posted on October 21, 2009, filed under: Academic, Community, Featured. | There are No Comments. |

Noted Jordanian author and journalist, Rana Husseini, has spent years researching and writing about the horror of honor killings that occur in many parts of the world, including the United States. The Roger Williams University Women’s Center will host Husseini on campus Thursday, November 12, for two public lectures. During her visit to RWU, Husseini will address the terrible nature of honor killings as chronicled in her new novel, “Murder in the Name of Honor.”

In her new book, Husseini tells the stories of women from across the globe who became victims of honor killings, and talks about the cultural dynamics that allow these horrific acts. She has bravely uncovered one of the world’s darkest crimes and chronicles both sides of this disturbing issue through interviews with fathers and sons who have committed these crimes and women who were able to escape their oppressors.

Husseini will engage the public in the Mary Teft White Cultural Center at 10 a.m. and at 1 p.m. in the Roger Williams Law School Appellate Court room. She will be available to meet with the public and sign books following each lecture. Both events are open to the public and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. More information on these events can be found by calling the RWU Women’s Center at (401) 254- 3294.

About RWU: Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 40 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. Under the leadership of President Roy J. Nirschel, Ph.D., the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report named RWU the seventh-ranked baccalaureate college in the north.

This entry was posted on September 25, 2009, filed under: Academic, Featured. | There are No Comments. |

This entry was posted on September 23, 2009, filed under: Featured, RWU School of Law. | There are No Comments. |

David A. Logan, dean of the Roger Williams University School of Law since 2003, was honored recently for his dedication and commitment to equal justice in the law.

Logan was recognized last Thursday at the 40th Anniversary Celebration of Rhode Island Legal Services (RILS). During his tenure at RWU, Logan has spearheaded numerous public interest projects, paved the way for increasing the school’s public-service graduation requirement to 50 hours, increased funding for students who work in public service jobs each summer, and supported scholarships for applicants with a public-interest commitment. During his time at RWU, bar pass rates have soared and surveys show that the faculty is now one of the most productive and diverse in New England.

Among the public interest projects cultivated under Logan’s leadership are the Pro Bono Collaborative (which links major law firms, community-based organizations, and law students to provide pro bono legal service to low-income individuals) and securing funding for a Public Interest Loan Repayment Program and the Thurgood Marshall Lecture Series.

The School of Law and RILS share a strong commitment to serve Rhode Island’s low-income communities and work together towards that goal. RILS has provided countless hours mentoring RWU law students, helping them appreciate the challenges and satisfaction that comes with representing the poor. As further evidence of the depth of the RILS-RWU Law connection, RILS employs nine RWU Law graduates.

“We are pleased to recognize Dean David Logan’s commitment to equal justice,” said Robert Barge, Executive Director of RILS. “Under his leadership, RWU Law has thrived, dramatically increasing its stature among the nation’s law schools. Importantly, this academic achievement has been accompanied by innovative and creative efforts to improve access to justice for low income Rhode Islanders. Offerings such as the Feinstein Institute for Legal Service, the Pro Bono Collaborative, and the Rhode Island Medical/Legal Partnership for Children all make clear the commitment of the School of Law to public interest law and public service.”

About RWU Law: Roger Williams University School of Law is the only law school in the State of Rhode Island, offering future attorneys a rigorous, world-class legal education in a supportive, personalized environment. A top-notch faculty and strong student culture drive the school’s rapidly growing reputation with a focus on integrity, academic excellence and professional success.

This entry was posted on September 23, 2009, filed under: Community, Featured, On Campus. | There are No Comments. |

After a nearly six-year financial planning process, 10 months of design and a 12-month construction period, Roger Williams University opened the doors today to its Global Heritage Hall, a premier state-of-the-art learning center and the “hub” of global research, scholarship, study and collaboration for the Roger Williams University community.

Destined to become a hallmark of the RWU Bristol campus, the 52,000 square foot, four-story facility boasts a three-story atrium, outdoor terrace area for teaching and a light-filled, technology-rich learning center. The Global Heritage Hall is home to:

• The departments of History; Communication and Graphic Design; Writing Studies, Rhetoric and Composition; English and Creative Writing; and Foreign Languages, Philosophy and Classics
• The Peggy and Marc Spiegel Center for Global & International Programs
• The Donald C. McGraw Foundation Communications Labs
• Multimedia Communications Studio and Newsroom
• The Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED World Languages Center
• Seven Heritage Classrooms that serve as a gateway to the world for the RWU community. With one still to be assigned, the following six heritages each have a devoted classroom in the Global Heritage Hall: African-American, Bristolian, Italian, Latino, Native American, and Portuguese.

The Global Heritage Hall is the latest in a string of significant capital projects completed by the University in 2009. The new North Campus Residence Village and the new University Alumni & Admissions Center are some of the recent construction projects enhancing RWU’s Bristol campus. Funded through a $1 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the University also completed the expansion of its Marine & Natural Sciences Building that is home to RWU’s Center for Environmental and Economic Development.

Members of the media are welcomed to tour the Global Heritage Hall by contacting Kathleen Lowe, director of Media and Marketing Services by calling (401) 254-5206.

Additional photos may be found here