Welcome

The Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy at the University at Buffalo School of Law is an endowed academic center. The Center’s mission is to advance interdisciplinary research on law, legal institutions, and social policy across all units at the University at Buffalo. We support research projects, conferences, workshops, fellowships, visiting scholars, speakers, and other promising initiatives through grants to UB faculty and graduate students. The call for grant applications opens in early January. Awards are announced in early spring.

Our research themes

The Baldy Center fosters and supports scholars whose work bridges disciplines and contributes to the great and growing mosaic of law and society scholarship, including human rights, courts, environmental governance, legal geography, international trade, intellectual property, social inequality, administrative regulation, state and urban government, the legal profession, family, religion, and cultural understandings of law among many other topics.

We fund events organized by UB faculty

Academic events organized by UB faculty and fully or partially funded by The Baldy Center include conferences, workshops, book manuscript workshops, and guest speakers on any topic related to law, legal institutions, or social policy. We support research in the broad, interdisciplinary arena of law, legal institutions, and social policy, as stand-alone or collaborative projects, including pilot study research aimed at developing external funding proposals. Learn more about The Baldy Center grants.

Events
2/24/25
The Baldy Center fosters and supports scholars whose work bridges disciplines and contributes to the great and growing mosaic of law and society scholarship.
The Baldy Center Grants
3/31/25
The Baldy Center fosters and supports scholars and UB faculty whose work bridges disciplines and contributes to the great and growing mosaic of law and society scholarship. Topics include human rights, courts, environmental governance, legal geography, international trade, intellectual property, social inequality, administrative regulation, state and urban government, the legal profession, family, religion, and cultural understandings of law.

We produce multimedia to share scholarly research

We invite you to engage with UB’s dynamic interdisciplinary scholars focused on critical law and social policy issues. The purpose of our blog and podcast is to share the perspectives of faculty, visiting fellows, and others. Contact us if you are interested in contributing to our blog and/or podcast.

The Baldy Center Blog

The Baldy Center Blog features interdisciplinary perspectives on research and current events from scholars whose work intersects with law, legal institutions, and social policy. We invite you to participate in The Baldy Center Blog.

Blog examples

Post 28. Barbara Wejnert: Russian invasion of Ukraine is intricately linked to the struggle for democracy against autocracy
7/19/22
“Attacks on health care are part of Russian strategy, with Ukrainian civilians used as "chess pieces," explains World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on March 30, 2022. Continue reading.
Post 25. Joe Atkinson: Decision Support for Lake Ontario Water Quality Management
7/18/22
Current efforts are being conducted to develop models that can adequately simulate the nearshore regions of the lake, which typically exhibit algae-related problems, along with the deeper water environment, where the concern is primarily for fish. These models are continually evolving. Continue reading.
Nadine Shaanta Murshid, Unprecedented Times
8/30/21
In my work, I focus on violence which is explicitly and implicitly embedded in patriarchy, racism, and capitalism. I hold institutions accountable as I analyze policies and procedures that produce the social problems that we see around us. Here are four thoughts I’d like to share. Read the blog.
James Gardner reflects on the question "Is Democracy Possible Here?”
8/30/21
It has often been said of socialism that we don’t really know whether it works because it has never been tried, and because regimes that have called themselves socialist have in fact fallen far short of its ideals. Much the same might be said of democracy. Read the blog.

The Baldy Center Podcast

The Baldy Center Podcast highlights academic research and scholarly perspectives on current issues and events. Learn more about The Baldy Center Podcast.

Podcast examples

Nellie Drew and 3L students discuss model laws and initiatives to safeguard athletes
12/7/23
In Episode 36 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Helen “Nellie” Drew, Professor of Sports Law, and her 3L students: Maddie Drechsel, Matt Pickard and Juliette Miranda discuss the importance of having pre-established action plans for professional sports injuries, as well as the need for education on how to prevent injuries in youth sports. From model laws to collaborative projects, we discuss the ins and outs of sports injury law and practice.
Paul Linden-Retek discusses postnational constitutionalism
5/24/24
In Episode 42 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Paul Linden-Retek discusses his book, Postnational Constitutionalism: Europe and the Time of Law (OUP: 2023). He shares insight on why he wrote the book, and addresses questions concerning global justice, the open-ended nature of identity, and the humanistic qualities of law, leading to a reconsideration of the grounds of an international legal order. Linden-Retek frames refugee law and policy within the EU as humanitarian issues at the center of his research.
Athena Mutua discusses the Critical (Legal) Collective
11/14/23
In Episode 35 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Professor of Law Athena Mutua discusses the importance of protecting critical thinking inside, and outside of, the university setting. She describes its intersection with social justice issues surrounding race, sex, gender, class, and more. Professor Mutua talks about the Critical (Legal) Collective and how the diverse group of scholars has come together to work towards generating real social change.
Rebecca R. French and Mark A. Nathan discuss Buddhism and Law
2/19/24
In Episode 39 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Rebecca R. French and Mark A. Nathan discuss Buddhism and Law in the context of past, present, and future plans for collaborative research among international scholars. Cultivated over decades, this research is seen in the depth and scope of related publications, and, in the remarkable trajectory of the scholarly journal, Buddhism, Law & Society, founded at UB School of Law, and continuing at Rutgers University.

We award research fellowships in interdisciplinary legal studies

We welcome fellowship applications from scholars outside UB who plan to engage in collaboration with UB faculty. The Call for Fellowship Applications opens in early January. Awards are announced in early spring. Each year, The Baldy Center typically awards one or two postdoctoral fellowships, and two senior/mid-career fellowships.

Postdoctoral Fellows
3/12/25
The Baldy Center Postdoctoral Fellows are highly promising scholars from a variety of disciplines who have completed their PhDs and/or JDs at other universities, but have not yet commenced tenure track positions. Chosen in an extremely competitive process, they carry out their scholarly projects with the full array of UB research resources and participate regularly in The Baldy Center talks, discussions, workshops, and conferences.
Senior and Mid-Career Fellows
1/14/25
The Baldy Center Senior Fellows are accomplished academics and professionals, usually faculty members at other universities, who pursue intensive scholarly projects closely related to the mission of The Center. They utilize UB’s extensive research resources, participate regularly in The Baldy Center events, and share their expertise with the larger community.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BALDY CENTER

Advancing interdisciplinary legal scholarship since 1978.

People
1/31/25
The Baldy Center is a focal point for the large group of scholars working on law, legal institutions, and social policy in the University at Buffalo community. The Center has a small staff working with the director and seven-member advisory council to aid and strengthen the larger community of scholars. The Baldy Center and Buffalo's scholarly community are also closely connected to regional, national, and global sociolegal scholars.
Research
1/31/24
The Baldy Center advances interdisciplinary research on law, legal institutions, and social policy. We award research grants to faculty members and support conferences and workshops focused on critical issues. Our Baldy Center postdoctoral fellows and senior fellows intensively engage in their research during funded residencies at The Baldy Center. Our international network of scholars and globally accessible working paper series keep us connected as we catalyze new work in the complex mosaic of law and social policy research.

The Baldy Center Supports Faculty Research