Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Miriam Rocah will serve as the first Distinguished Fellow in Criminal Justice at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.

The law school described the appointment as the latest move in its expansion of its program for aspiring prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers.

In addition to teaching and advising students, she will arrange speakers and conferences on issues of importance to attorneys and policymakers. One of her first initiatives is putting together a program on the topic of public corruption.

“We are already in the planning stages of a major symposium in the public corruption arena for the spring semester, which will focus on the impact and import of McDonnell v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2355 (2016), for public corruption prosecutions and for politicians and their donors,” she said in a statement.

Rocah identified child exploitation, gang violence, human trafficking, gun violence and the opioid and heroin epidemics as other issues she'd like to explore at Pace. She said she wants to teach law students about these subjects so they will be equipped to look for novel solutions.

In an interview, she noted that she was the first law school professor at Pace with a background in federal prosecution.

Pace also announced the appointment of adjunct professor Carol Barry to serve as executive director of the school's Criminal Justice Institute. Barry has led Pace Law's prosecution externship programs.

Hundreds of Pace Law's 8,000 alumni have served as prosecutors. More than 20 members of the 2017 graduating class are working as assistant district attorneys in New York and elsewhere, according to the school.