Baldy Center at UB Law School Launches Three Prizes for Outstanding Accomplishment

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Christopher Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy in the University at Buffalo Law School has established three new prizes for innovation in law and social science: online communication, new scholarship and distinguished contribution.

The new awards, called the Christopher Baldy Prizes for Innovation in Law and Social Policy, mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of UB's Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy. The prizes are intended to stimulate and reward innovative research, scholarship, and uses of communication and information technologies that advance the profession's knowledge and understanding of socio-legal issues.

The prizes hope to advance the Baldy Center's mission to promote interdisciplinary research and scholarship in law and social policy. They will be awarded to individuals who have demonstrated creative and original thinking or developed novel approaches in socio-legal research and practice.

"Perhaps the most important quality needed in our society today is innovation in social policy -- advances in how we think about and create the social world that we live in," says Rebecca French, director of the Baldy Center and Roger and Karen Jones Faculty Scholar and professor of law. "Law has been a vital resource in these innovations."

Each of the three awards comes with a $7,500 stipend. Winners will be chosen in the following categories:

-- Online Communication: This prize will be awarded to an individual, group or organization that successfully integrates online technology in innovative ways to communicate creative ideas and the best practices in law and social policy. The online work will typically combine such elements as text, audiovisual media and social networking technologies, all of which have a significant practical impact on law and social policy.

-- New Scholarship: This prize will be given to the author of either a first or second manuscript in law and social policy. It is intended for a new scholar in the field who demonstrates innovation and ingenuity by bringing fresh ideas to longstanding problems, explores previously unacknowledged issues or develops novel methods and approaches to analysis of law and social policy.

-- Distinguished Contribution: This prize will be given to a distinguished scholar who has consistently demonstrated a commitment to innovative thinking in law and social policy. The recipient will be someone whose groundbreaking and substantial body of work has profoundly influenced the way we talk and think about law in its social contexts.

The Christopher Baldy Prizes are open to those doing research and work in all fields of law and social policy. Nominations can be made through the Baldy Center's Web site and will be accepted until Dec. 1. The winners will be announced in January 2010. Each winner will be invited to come to the UB Law School to receive his or her prize and give a talk on the winning work. For more information on eligibility and nomination procedures, visit http://www.law.buffalo.edu/baldycenter/.

The Baldy Center is an endowed, internationally recognized institute that supports the interdisciplinary study of law and social institutions. More than 100 UB faculty members from 17 academic departments participate in Baldy Center research, conference and scholarship activities, as do an increasing number of graduate students. The center maintains cooperative ties to other interdisciplinary research centers, and co-sponsors a regional network of socio-legal scholars in New York State and Canada. The Baldy Center also hosts distinguished scholars from around the world as visitors, speakers and conference participants.

Since its founding in 1887, the University at Buffalo Law School -- the State University of New York system's only law school -- has established an excellent reputation and is widely regarded as a leader in legal education. Its cutting-edge curriculum provides both a strong theoretical foundation and the practical tools graduates need to succeed in a competitive marketplace, wherever they choose to practice. A special emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, public service and opportunities for hands-on clinical education makes UB Law unique among the nation's premier public law schools.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.