Dear Friends of LSJ,
I am honored to begin a three-year term as chair of the Law, Societies & Justice Department. I have seen the LSJ Department (formerly LSJ Program) come into existence and flourish under the visionary leadership of three earlier chairs and directors: Michael McCann, Steve Herbert, and Katherine Beckett. Today, LSJ is a popular department that contributes greatly to the intellectual and civic life of the University of Washington.
LSJ was created with a mission to teach courses and foster research in law, rights, and justice. We have become a leader in experiential learning, offering opportunities such as the Juvenile Parole Project, Migrant Stories Project, and Philanthropy Lab. Our faculty maintain an ambitious research agenda, producing original scholarship that advances our understanding of legal institutions, human rights, and social justice.
We are proud of our students, who demonstrate their curiosity, dedication, and imagination in their courses and independent research projects. Many are already having a positive impact on the world through participation in action and service projects affiliated with LSJ, and we follow their post-graduate accomplishments with great admiration. Learning from our students and alums is one of the most gratifying parts of our job.
This fall, we are delighted to welcome two new faculty members. Sebastián Rubiano-Galvis, our new professor of environmental justice, received his PhD in environmental studies from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2022, and subsequently taught in the International Studies Department of the University of San Francisco. Previously, he practiced and taught human rights and environmental law in Colombia. His research focuses on legal and political conflicts relating to the environment in Latin America. He is currently writing a book that shows how global efforts to eradicate mercury pollution collide with social inequalities and legacies of colonial injustice in Colombia.
Morgan Vickers, our new professor of race/racialization, received their PhD in geography from the University of California last spring. In graduate school, they became the founding member and organizer of the Black Geographies Graduate Student Conference. Their research interests span Black geographies, racial justice, and environmental justice. Professor Vickers is working on a book that shows how swamp imagery and discourses of pestilence were used to stigmatize and displace Black communities during the hydroelectric dam projects of the New Deal Era.
LSJ can take justified pride in its accomplishments. Our successes have been made possible by our outstanding faculty (including lecturers, instructors, and TAs) and our brilliant and dedicated staff. I am excited to see LSJ build on this legacy in the years ahead.
In the meantime, I am pleased to welcome new and returning students to the start of the 2024-25 academic year. Our Student Engagement Council has planned activities throughout the year, to which all are invited. I wish faculty, staff, students, alums, and friends a successful and fulfilling year.
Best wishes,
Jamie Mayerfeld