News

The Schulich School of Law is pleased to share the faculty members who have been awarded promotions and/or achieved tenure for 2024: Sara Seck, Sheila Wildeman, Nayha Acharya, Maria Dugas, and Sara Ross.

Promoted to Full Professor
 

Sara Seck

Dr. Sara Seck earned an LLB from the University of Toronto and after completing a PhD at Osgoode Hall Law School, she began teaching in Western University’s Faculty of Law in 2007. Prior to studying law, she completed a BA and an MA in Music from Memorial University.

She joined Schulich Law in 2017 as an Associate Professor and became a member of the Marine & Environmental Law Institute (MELAW) and the Business Law faculty. She has served a 3-year term as the Associate Dean (Research), was appointed the Yogis & Keddy Chair in Human Rights Law in 2021, and is the current Director of MELAW.

Seck’s research focuses on the relationship between international human rights law, environment, and business law, with attention to the rights of local and Indigenous communities, intersectional gender justice, and global south perspectives on sustainable development. Since joining MELAW her research has increasingly integrated attention to the marine environment, including at the climate oceans nexus.

"It is a particular privilege to be a part of the Schulich School of Law’s Marine & Environmental Law Institute, working with such inspiring colleagues and students."
 

Sheila Wildeman

Sheila Wildeman holds an LLB from the Schulich School of Law, an LLM from the University of Toronto, and an MA from Columbia University.

She joined the Schulich School of Law as a faculty member in 2004. In addition to teaching, she is currently the Associate Director of the Dalhousie Health Justice Institute (DHJI) and Co-Chair of the East Coast Prison Justice Society.  

Through her work with DHJI, Wildeman has contributed to law and policy analysis for Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness for close to 15 years. More generally, she has engaged in research, writing, policy analysis and community-based advocacy in support of disability rights and, more recently, prison justice.

“In my 20 years teaching at the Schulich School of Law, I have had the pleasure of learning alongside a diverse array of dedicated students and colleagues who each bring a unique perspective when engaging with the law: what law means, what it does, and what it could be. Another one of the most rewarding aspects of this extraordinary job is the support I receive from the law school to work alongside community-based justice-seeking groups.”  
 

Achieved Tenure and Promoted to Associate Professor

Nayha Acharya

Dr. Nayha Acharya completed her LLB at the University of Alberta, then articled and practiced at an Edmonton law firm. She joined the Schulich School of Law community in 2011 when she arrived to pursue graduate studies, earning her LLM and her PhD. She joined the law school as a faculty member in 2019.

Acharya’s current research interests include alternative dispute resolution, civil procedure and procedural justice, legal theory, dispute resolution and medical negligence.  

"The Schulich School of Law has been an amazing scholarly home that I'm honoured to be part of. Here, I have grown from graduate student to professor and have had the chance to interact with our bright and conscientious students who give me so much hope for the future of the legal profession. I am excited to continue being part of this vibrant community."
 

Maria Dugas

Maria Dugas earned her JD at the Schulich School of Law and articled at Nova Scotia Legal Aid, then returned to Dalhousie to complete her LLM. She is a recipient of the James Robinson Johnston Graduate Studies Scholarship and was the first African Nova Scotian to clerk at the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. She joined the faculty of Schulich Law in 2019.

Her current research interests include copyright law, criminal law with a social justice perspective, and critical race legal theory.

"Part of the reason I chose to teach was to increase the representation of African Nova Scotians in academia."
 

Sara Ross

Dr. Sara Ross holds a BA Honours in Anthropology with First Class Honours from McGill University, a BA in French and Spanish with Distinction from the University of Alberta, a BCL and an LLB from McGill, an LLM from the University of Ottawa, and a PhD from Osgoode Hall Law School.

She is a former Banting postdoctoral fellow (Dalhousie University), Killam postdoctoral laureate and SSHRC postdoctoral fellow (University of British Columbia) and joined Schulich Law in 2021. In 2023 she served as acting Associate Dean (Research) and was appointed Director of the Marine & Environmental Law Program and Associate Director of MELAW.   

Broadly, Ross' research investigates the mechanics of marginalization within local contexts through the lens of legal anthropology, interactions between transnational legal frameworks and local law, culturally sustainable cities, equality, and (re)development processes, and cultural property and heritage law.

"My life’s passion is research, especially dissecting the inequalities at the intersection of law, culture, and the city. The chance to do this in Halifax has provided me with the opportunity to broaden my work nationally, after my time researching in Toronto and Vancouver."