After 40 years, Professor of Law Bruce Miller is retiring from the Western New England University School of Law at the close of the academic year. For more than 50 years, Miller has dedicated his life to social justice — promoting legal work across the country. As he prepares to retire, the School of Law is launching the Professor Bruce Miller Social Justice Fellowship in his honor. As a part of the School of Law's Center for Social Justice, the Fellowship will be awarded annually to a J.D. student who is committed to doing social justice-promoting legal work over a summer prior to the student's graduation. The award is intended to provide financial aid to a student doing work that aligns the School of Law's commitment to social justice.
"Bruce's lifelong commitment to public interest work has inspired social justice-minded students for decades," said Lauren Carasik, Western New England University Center for Social Justice's inaugural director. "The Miller Social Justice Fellowship honors Bruce's admirable legacy by providing funding for students to engage in public interest work during the summer months that advances the Center's social justice mission." said Carasik.
To honor Miller and his tireless dedication to students and to the rule of law, the School of Law community planned to honor Bruce Miller's impact and social justice legacy at an April 3 celebration to be sponsored by the generosity of the law firm of Sasson, Turnbull, Ryan and Hoose; the Community Foundation of Western Massachussetts; and the WNE University School of Law Alumni Association. Due to the Massachusetts Covid-19 shutdown, the event has been postponed until the fall. A new date has been set for Friday, November 13, at The Log Cabin in Holyoke, MA.
Updates on the celebration of Professor Miller will be shared and posted on the University Events Calendar. To make a gift toward the Miller Fellowship, please visit wne.edu/thefund or send a check payable to Western New England University, memo: Bruce Miller Social Justice Fellowship.
About the Center for Social Justice
The Western New England University Law School's Center for Social Justice reaffirms a longstanding commitment to advancing social justice, both locally and globally. The Center showcases faculty's pioneering legal scholarship and advocacy, from advancing LGBTQI and gender rights to promoting economic justice and protecting immigrants. Students are also deeply involved with social justice issues, through robust experiential offerings and pro bono opportunities, collaboration with faculty, leadership in student groups, and mentoring young students in pipeline programs for groups traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession. The School of Law also fosters engagement with social justice issues through courses, speakers, conferences, and workshops.
