Page 56 - BusinessWest Sept. 29, 2021

SUDHA SETTY
CHRISTOPHER MYHRUM
Western New England Uni- versity School of Law Dean Sudha Setty has been named 2021 Human Relations Award winner by the National Confer- ence for Community and Jus- tice (NCCJ), a human-relations organization whose mission
is to champion social justice for all; fight bias, bigotry, and racism in all forms;
and work toward building strong and inclusive com- munities. Each year, the NCCJ presents the Human Relations Award to individuals or corporations that have actualized in their daily lives the values and
Law in 2019; was awarded Western New England Law School’s Catherine J. Jones Professor of Year Award
in 2009, 2016, and 2018; received the 2017 Tapping Reeve Legal Educator Award from the Connecticut Bar Assoc.; and was recognized in 2015 as a Trailblaz- er by the South Asian Bar Assoc. of Connecticut.
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Elms College announced the retirement of Kath-
leen Scoble, dean of the college’s School of Nursing, effective Sept. 10. The college has been conducting a national search for Scoble’s successor since she notified the college of her retirement this past Janu- ary. When Scoble joined Elms College in 2003, the Division of Nursing consisted of one baccalaureate
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers in America has become universally regard- ed as a definitive guide to legal excellence. The nationwide list of attorneys included in the upcoming 28th edition is based on more than 4.3 million con- fidential and detailed evalua-
tions from more than 41,000 leading attorneys on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Myhrum works with environmental consultants; fed- eral, state, and municipal officials; and other lawyers seeking opportunities for learning and collaboration rather than acrimony and contention. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School and a cum laude graduate of New York University. He is a board member of Westmass Area Development Corp., where he serves as a director and land inven- tory committee member.
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Ariel Clemmer, director of the Western New Eng-
land University School of Law Center for Social Justice, was named a 2021 Emerging Women Leader in Law by the Women’s Bar Assoc. (WBA). The award honors women attorneys who have demonstrated professional excellence or had a significant profes- sional achievement in their first 12 years in the legal profession, and promote the status of women in the legal profession or contribute meaningfully to the equal participation of women in a just society. The university’s Center for Social Justice works toward advancing social justice through research, advocacy, education, innovation, and public engagement. It is designed to strengthen collaborative efforts between the School of Law and the region to work toward a more just, equitable, and inclusive society. In addi- tion to providing services like a Consumer Debt Initiative and a Sealing and Expungement initiative to the community, the center has conducted Know Your Rights trainings, provided financial support for initiatives that seek to measure and mitigate the legal fallout from COVID-19, and hosted nationally rec- ognized speakers like Evan Wolfson, the legal archi- tect of the marriage-equality movement. Clemmer
is among six to receive this prestigious award. The 2021 awardees will be celebrated and honored at the WBA’s annual gala on Monday, Oct. 25.
tainly more cost-friendly that Boston and other met- ropolitan areas. “Developing in New England may not be the cheapest, but we’re still competitive.”
Bottom Line
Panteleakis — who, as noted, has been involved in large development projects in many areas of the country — said the Westfield data-center campus project represents the type of development that all regions are striving for.
“I’ve done a lot of work in Florida and Texas, and this is how they drive economic development for the 21st century in their areas; they’re focusing on new sectors and technologies,” he explained. “This proj- ect will have a tremendous impact on quality of life in Westfield and across the region. It will have a very broad impact.”
As those we spoke with noted, there are still many hurdles to overcome before this proposal becomes reality. If it can clear those obstacles, it could be transformative in many different ways. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
People on the Move
program with 100 students.
In the 2020-21 academic year, there were nearly 500 nurs- ing students enrolled in the 12 programs that now comprise the School of Nursing. Scoble
mission of the organization. These individuals and companies have demonstrated their commitment to fostering social justice and cooperation among
all races, religions, cultures, genders, abilities, and sexual orientations. Setty became dean of the School of Law in 2018 and has served on the faculty since 2006. She is the author of National Security Secrecy: Comparative Effects on Democracy and the Rule of Law and the editor of Constitutions, Security, and the Rule of Law, and has written dozens of articles on national-security law and policy. In July 2018,
she was elected to membership in the American
Law Institute. Her leadership of the School of Law has been characterized by a commitment to social justice; diversity, equity, and inclusion work; and supporting excellence in teaching, learning, and research. In May 2019, the School of Law founded the Center for Social Justice, which has quickly grown to be a regional hub of research, advocacy, educa- tion, and activism. In April 2021, the faculty of the School of Law adopted an anti-racism and cultural- competency graduation requirement, making it the first law school in the region to do so. Setty is also a founder of the Workshop for Asian-American Women in the Legal Academy, with its inaugural workshop being held in 2021, an effort to support current and aspiring members of the legal academy and to diver- sify its ranks. She was recognized on the Lawyers of Color Power List in 2020; was recognized as part of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Top Women in the
Data Center
Continued from page 9
“We’re hoping to have all local permits in hand by the end of the year,” he explained. “Shortly thereaf- ter, we’d begin work on designs and infrastructure;
it would be about 18 to 24 months from go date to being operational.”
Meanwhile, speculation continues about what this project could mean for Westfield and the region. That discussion takes place on many levels, starting with immediate, tangible benefits.
That list includes 1,800 construction jobs, 1,200 indirect jobs that will result from creation of the cen- ter, and what is projected to be 400 jobs that will pay between $85,000 to $100,000 at the entry level.
“When people in economic development talk about job creation, these are the kinds of jobs that you’re looking to create,” Sullivan said. “These employees will live in our communities, they’ll invest in our communities, they’ll shop in our communities, and they’ll support the charities in our communities, as will the companies.”
There’s also the tax revenue; Servistar has negoti- ated a 40-year property-tax agreement with the city that is expected to produce more than $350 million
established several forward-looking programs, such as the Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Master of Science in Nursing programs, as well as the Acceler- ated Second Degree program. In March 2019, she helped create a unique partnership with the Episco- palian University of Haiti to offer a continuing-edu- cation certificate program that prepares the future Haitian nursing workforce to deliver competent, patient-centered care within their communities. In recognition of her stewardship of the School of Nurs- ing, Scoble has been named dean emerita of the School of Nursing, becoming the first Elms College dean to receive this distinguished title. The college has also created the Kathleen B. Scoble Leadership in Nursing Award, which will be presented each year to the nursing student who best exemplifies the ide- als of servant leadership, as demonstrated by Scoble, through academic excellence and the individual’s impact on the School of Nursing, Elms College, and the greater community. On Sept. 13, Teresa Kuta Reske — associate dean of Graduate and Doctoral Studies for the School of Nursing and director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program — became inter- im dean of the School of Nursing and will remain in that role until a new dean is hired.
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Best Lawyers in America recognized attorney Chris-
topher Myhrum in the categories of environmental law and litigation – environmental. He has received this prestigious recognition every year since 1991.
in direct property-tax payments over the term of that agreement.
Beyond these direct benefits, though, is that opportunity Sullivan and Daley mentioned for the region to not only get in the game when it comes to Big Data, but become a player in that sector, which would appear to have almost unlimited potential.
“If you look in the crystal ball, this is a sector that’s only going to grow,” Sullivan said. “And of you overlay data storage and data transmission and all the issues that are somewhat related, such as cybersecurity and other Big Data, I think there’s a real opportunity for us in Western Massachusetts to grow and in some ways lead, if you will, in this sector.
“We have out colleges, especially Bay Path and the University of Massachusetts, that are doing a lot of cutting-edge work in cybersecurity and Big Data, and others will certainly follow,” he went on. “And this will help train a workforce, which is always significant as these companies look to grow.”
As for some of those other boxes that need to
be checked, Sullivan acknowledged that the cost of doing business in this state is not as low as in some other areas of the Northeast, but Western Mass. is cer-
56 SEPTEMBER 29, 2021
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