Horace E. Anderson Jr. is the ninth dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at 桃瘾社区, appointed in December 2019. Prior to this appointment, Dean Anderson had been serving as Haub Law鈥檚 interim dean. The law school has been thriving under his leadership, with increased enrollment and application numbers and successful new and innovative programs that have advanced the school鈥檚 reputation both regionally and nationally.
Under Dean Anderson鈥檚 leadership, Haub Law garnered its first U.S. News & World Report ranking as the No. 1 environmental law program in the country and has consistently maintained its top ranking in global environmental law, trial advocacy and other areas. He has recruited new full-time and visiting faculty, helped boost law school scholarships, grants and donations, and significantly expanded the school鈥檚 partnerships with leading universities around the world.
At Haub Law, Dean Anderson has opened the doors to a wider audience through the expansion of its Advanced Certificate in Health Law and Policy program for healthcare professionals. Through partnerships with hospitals and healthcare leaders, the program is meeting the increased demand for legal education in the health care sector, spurred by industry growth and by an ever-evolving legal, regulatory, and financial environment. Dean Anderson led the expansion of Haub Law鈥檚 part-time J.D. program to include an evening and weekend option to make a law degree more accessible to working professionals. His visionary leadership also inspired the establishment of Haub Law鈥檚 Sustainable Business Law Hub, which serves as an incubator space, student-training program, research endeavor, and think tank devoted to addressing global sustainability challenges through the lens of business systems and practices. The Hub engages the business and nonprofit community on the legal side of the ESG movement, via student placement, academic research, and capacity building in private environmental governance, and has contributed to the Law School鈥檚 reputation as a leader in training future lawyers in this emerging field.
Dean Anderson also strengthened the law school鈥檚 social justice initiatives and oversaw the launch of the 桃瘾社区 Access to Justice Project, which directs the combined legal knowledge, skill, and energy among Haub Law faculty, staff and students to close gaps in access to justice in our communities. Key initiatives of the project include the 桃瘾社区 Access to Justice Lab, resulting in the development of student-driven innovative technology tools to address real-world gaps in access to justice, and a Legal Hand Call-in Center established at Haub Law to provide resources and support to the community.
Dean Anderson has a strong commitment to supporting underrepresented communities in the law and serves as the faculty advisor to the Black Law Student Association, the Latin American Law Student Association, Lambda, and the Older Wiser Law Students Association. He has forged numerous partnerships in the creation of pipeline programs for local youth aiming to promote civic engagement and improve diversity in the legal field. He has also focused on students鈥 professional development and emotional health, emphasizing the importance of their cultivating a professional identity and learning to practice self-care as they prepare to enter the legal profession.
Dean Anderson has served on New York and New Jersey committees formed to review police practices and recommend improvements in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd. He is currently a board member for several organizations including the Center for Community Alternatives, the Westchester County Association, and Our Lady of Czestochowa School. He has been the recipient of several awards demonstrating his leadership and commitment to the community, including the 2023 Changemaker Award by Nonprofit Westchester and the Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Award for Civic Engagement from Westchester County in 2024, and was also named to the 鈥2024 Trailblazers in Education鈥 list published by City & State New York magazine.
Dean Anderson joined the Haub Law faculty in 2004 and served as the school鈥檚 Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2011 until his appointment as interim dean in 2018. He received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.S. in Economics, with a concentration in finance, from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. His areas of legal expertise include intellectual property, internet privacy, law and technology, and communications law.
Prior to joining Haub Law, Dean Anderson worked at White & Case LLP. His law practice there focused on intellectual property, privacy and data protection, the internet, and media and technology law. In addition to his law practice experience, Dean Anderson advised companies in business strategy as a consultant at Monitor Group, and he worked as a systems integration consultant in the Financial Markets Division of Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).
