78 AUTUMN 2002
NYU Names Global Law Program for Rita and Gustave Hauser NYU Law hosted a celebration to rename the Global Law School Program as the Hauser Global Law School Program in honor of Rita (’59) and Gustave (LL.M. ’57) Hauser, who recently gave $5 million to the program—beyond $6 million they previously gave.
From left to right: Gustave Hauser, Professor Norman Dorsen, Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter, Professor Ronald Dworkin, Dr. Rita Hauser, Dean Anthony Kronman, and Professor Ratna Kapur
Rita and Gustave Hausers’ connection with the Program began in 1993, when Rita and then-Dean John Sexton originally discussed the idea that eventually emerged as the global program. The Hausers’ initial generous gift launched the Hauser Scholars Program, which brings some of the finest graduate students from around the world to the Law School. Gustave Hauser, chairman and CEO of Hauser Communications, Inc., is a pioneer of the modern cable television industry, responsible for developing such innovations as the MTV and Nickelodeon television networks, pay-per-view, and other advanced interactive services. Rita Hauser, whose career has been distinguished by a commitment to public service, served as U.S. representative to the United Nations Commission for Human Rights in the 1970s. She practiced law as a senior partner of a large New York firm,
specializing in international legal matters, and is now counsel to the firm. She is also president of the Hauser Foundation, the couple’s philanthropic organization, and the chair of the International Peace Academy, which promotes multinational peacekeeping functions. Hauser was recently appointed to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. RENAMING CEREMONY PANEL
Two events marked the renaming of the program. The first was a panel discussion, “Globalization in Legal Education in the 21st Century.” The participants included NYU Law Professor Ronald Dworkin; Rita Hauser; Global Visiting Professor Ratna Kapur; Yale Law School Dean Anthony Kronman; and Harvard Law Professor AnneMarie Slaughter. Professor Norman Dorsen, chair of the Hauser Global Law School Program, served as moderator.
Dorsen opened the discussion by recalling that when he and Sexton first talked about the idea of a global program, they were not sure what it might become. In the end, Dorsen said, “It’s become something much more important than we could have imagined.” Dorsen also acknowledged Justice Sandra Day O’Connor for her support of the Program in its early years. Her participation in one of the first panel discussions hosted by the Global Law School Program, and her subsequent citing of decisions by foreign tribunals, helped to solidify the premises of the Program. Professor Slaughter stressed that “in the wake of September 11, global education is even more important than ever.” Slaughter emphasized that “foreign students and U.S. students must be studying side by side on an equal footing in genuinely mixed classes…they must share every aspect of student life.” She spoke about preparing lawyers for practice in a global legal environment as a very important aspect of bringing lawyers back into the role of statesmen and stateswomen. Dean Kronman thanked Sexton, Dorsen, and the Hausers for creating the Global Law School Program. “No other school has such a program,” he said. Kronman also told the audience that the global marketplace that has developed since World War II calls for cooperation. “Now we are all linked and there are repercussions to everything,— including the spread of democracy.” Professor Kapur claimed that a paradigm shift had occurred in law, which requires law graduates to be conversant with the international landscape. “We need lawyers who can service multinational corporations,” she said. She also spoke about the “dark side” of globalization—the denigration of human rights and the limited role for women. Professor Dworkin said that a successful integration of a global law perspective would involve a “change in the way we reason.” For example, which methods should lawyers use when faced with a novel cross-border issue—who is legally responsible and which law should govern? “The challenge is to adopt an appropriate interpretative stance toward the old law,” he said. Hauser said she feels one of the best things about education is the discovery that there is more than one way to do something. Her inspiration is that “someone else will have a better idea.” Hauser continued,