For the Record: Faculty Awards, Presentations and Expert Insights on Environmental Law, AI and More

News 

Mundheim Awarded University in Exile Award at New School for Social Research Graduation 

On May 14 Professor Robert Mundheim was awarded the University in Exile Award at the graduation ceremony of the New School for Social Research (NSSR). The Award was established to commemorate the founding of the University in Exile at NSSR in the 1930s to provide a haven for scholars at risk and to affirm the University’s commitment to academic freedom, human rights and democracy. 

Mundheim has served on the NSSR Board of Governors and University’s Board of Trustees for many years. The award honored his dedicated leadership, outstanding support and exemplary character.  

Miguel-Stearns Gives Keynote Address at AJELP Spring Symposium 

On April 24 Professor Teresa Miguel-Stearns, associate dean of Legal Information Innovation and director of the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library, gave the keynote address to the Arizona Journal of Environmental Law & Policy (AJELP) Spring Symposium. The theme of the symposium was Law, Scarcity, and the Construction of the "Other." Miguel-Stearns tied her co-authored paper, More Than Morrill: The Intertwined History of Indian Land Dispossession, Arizona Statehood, and University Enrichment ,which AJELP published in November, to the conference theme with the hope of inspiring students to write bold and inspiring scholarship. 

Laskowski Attends DI Library Advisory Council 2026 at Harvard Law 

Associate Librarian Cas Laskowski attended the Data Initiative Library Advisory Council 2026 at Harvard Law School, where she serves as a member of the Institutional Data Initiative Advisory Council. The council discussed the initiative's goals, strategies, and action items which includes their goal to help libraries begin providing access to collections in a machine-readable format (from print to digital to computational).

Media 

Seattle University School of Law Hosts Conference on Indigenous Perspectives on AI 
EIN Presswire 
May 22, 2026 

Regents Professor Rebecca Tsosie is announced as a speaker at the 9th Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference at Seattle University School of Law on Friday, June 5. The conference will bring together leading scholars, attorneys, technologists and Indigenous leaders to explore the rapidly evolving relationship between artificial intelligence, law, governance and Indigenous sovereignty. 

Bipartisan drive for permitting reform grows, but outlook is still murky 
Chemical and Engineering News 
May 22, 2026 

The article covers efforts in Congress to reform the federal permitting process, making it faster and easier to build energy projects like pipelines and renewables by changing environmental review laws, but recent Trump administration moves impede negotiations. Professor Justin Pidot, Ashby Lohse Chair in Water & Natural Resources and co-director of the Environmental Law Program, weighs in.  

Arizona program trains women as legal advocates 
Tucson Spotlight 
May 22, 2026 

A new 20-week certificate program aims to train women already working in Arizona communities as legal advocates for neighbors facing eviction or domestic violence. The Women’s Legal and Self-Empowerment Certification program is a partnership between the Women’s Foundation for Southern Arizona, I Am You 360, and Arizona Law’s Innovation for Justice.  

ICE Changes Environmental Review Plan for Detention Centers 
Bloomberg Law  
May 20, 2026 

ICE has been converting warehouses into detention centers while skipping required environmental reviews, and courts are pushing back, having them do the reviews for some facilities. Professor Justin Pidot, Ashby Lohse Chair in Water & Natural Resources and co-director of the Environmental Law Program is quoted.  

Opinion: 'When you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election' 
The New York Times 
May 5, 2026 
 
An April 2025 paper by Professor Shalev Gad Roisman, a law professor at the University of Arizona, suggested the U.S. Supreme Court would not intervene if President Trump attempted to somehow cancel the midterm elections this fall.  

Law Librarians Have a Plan for AI. The Publishing of Legal Practitioners Is Not In It. 
Real Lawyers Have Blogs 
May 4, 2026 

A white paper written by Associate Librarian Cas Laskowski on AI and law libraries is analyzed.