Celebrate International Education Week

International Education Week takes place each November and is a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Education is part of the efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States. To learn more about IEW, visit the Department of State website.
SATURDAY: November 14th

National Unity Day -- Russia, 12:00 noon - Fulbright Peace Fountain by Old Main. The Russia-Eurasia Student Organization wants to celebrate the National Unity Day by inviting the University of Arkansas community to play a quest game dedicated to the events that rallied Russian people and led to the Romanov dynasty to take the throne. Food will be served at the close of the game. Sponsor: Associated Student Government and the Russia-Eurasia Student Organization. Contact - Rustem Galiullin; grustem@email.uark.edu

International Education Week Lunch Specials – 11 am – 2pm , Ella’s Restaurant at the Inn at Carnell Hall on UA Campus, Lunch specials will be available for lunch at Ella’s Restaurant, with a different country represented each day. Monday China, Tuesday Brazil, Wednesday Bolivia, Thursday Panama, Friday India

MONDAY: November 16th

The Role of International Education in Peacebuilding, 8:00am - 10:00am, Holcombe Hall Classroom, Through international education, students become more effective communicators, more engaged citizens, and learn to think critically about the relationships between local and global issues. These skills are all vital to building peace in a world full of conflict. To celebrate this capacity of international education during International Education Week, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the United States Institute of Peace, and the Alliance for Peacebuilding invite you to a free panel discussion on the role of international education in peacebuilding. Experts in conflict resolution and peacebuilding will: 

• Provide a high-level overview of the ways in which international engagement and global learning can help mitigate conflict and empower individuals to become peacebuilders
• Share key strategies and approaches available to educators to engage students in peacebuilding both locally and globally 
• Examine the role of global learning in the peacebuilding process. Contact - Michael Freeman:mfreeman@uark.edu

International Dress Day & Photo, all day, Group Photo after Opening session 11 a.m.. International Connections Lounge in the Arkansas Union, Wear a hat, tee shirt, scarf, traditional outfit from where you are from of have visited. A group Photo will be following the IEW Opening remarks.

Opening session and International Bazaar, 11:00am – 2:00pm, International Connection Lounge in the Arkansas Union, Kim Needy, Dean of Graduate School and International Education will open the University of Arkansas' International Education Week followed by a group picture of the University of Arkansas community in traditional dress. International Bazaar will contribute to inclusion and diversity on campus though cultural table presentations and performances by international students. Sponsor: International Students Organization (ISO) Contact – Layseen Chen Torres: lachento@uark.edu

Study Abroad Photo Contest Display, 11:00am – 2:00pm, International Connections Lounge, Winners of the 2015 Study Abroad Photo Contest will be announced and displayed during the International Bazaar. Sponsor: Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange, Contact – Brian Poepsel: bpoepse@uark.edu

Theatre and Diplomacy, 5:30pm, Giffels Auditorium, A presentation by Syrian playwright and diplomat Riad Ismat. This is an event raising awareness of the need of defending academic freedom worldwide and creating support networks of international solidarity. Sponsor: UA Scholars at Risk Committee, Arts and Sciences Area Studies, Theatre, English, Diversity Affairs, Contact – Luis Restrepo: lrestr@uark.edu

For a full listing of events throughout the week, visit the International Students & Scholars website. 

The National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy publishes the first Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal

We are pleased to share news that The National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy has published the first issue of Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal (KMLPJ). KMLPJ is an academic, peer-reviewed journal which provides a unique focus on many aspects of Ukrainian law and political issues, including their broader international contexts.

Our own University of Arkansas Associate Professor of Law Christopher Kelley edited, pro bono, the Journal's articles for their English grammar and style, using UK rules of grammar, spelling, and the like. Professor Kelley and the University of Arkansas are thanked on the Journal's website.

Accelerated JD Program for Foreign-Trained Lawyers Admitting for Fall 2016

   Accelerated JD Program for Foreign-Trained Lawyers

The Accelerated JD Program at the University of Arkansas School of Law is now accepting applications for fall 2016. The AJD Program is designed specifically for individuals who have completed a law degree outside the United States, and wish to complete a JD in the United States to expand their career opportunities. The curricular structure of the AJD program is focused on successful bar passage. Our first year AJD candidates take the same foundational courses as our traditional JD candidates, while the second year is tailored to the particular goals of the candidate, focusing on bar preparation. AJD Candidates enjoy specialized faculty support throughout their matriculation, as well as tutoring and guidance from seasoned law students. To qualify, applicants must hold a degree from an accredited law school that would qualify the applicant to practice law in their country. The LSAT is not required. Candidates will receive up to thirty hours of credit for their previous coursework allowing them to complete the program over two academic years. Our fall 2016 semester will begin August 15th. 

The University of Arkansas School of Law has ranked as a top 10 best value law school for 3 years in a row in the U.S. in National Jurist magazine’s Top 20 Values in legal education and among U.S. News and World Report‘s top 41 public law schools.


Located in Northwest Arkansas, Fayetteville is nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. With over 58,000 inhabitants, Fayetteville is known for its rich natural beauty, healthful climate, clean air, low cost of living, low crime rate, and is frequently listed among the top ten Best College Towns.

Visit our website for information on program costs and instructions on how to apply. Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact us by email at sxh090@uark.edu to learn more.

This is the season to be applying to the U.S. Student Fulbright Program, the U.S. State Department's flagship program for U.S. students, including law graduates. This year's application deadline on this campus is September 15. For those of you who are second-year students, next year's deadline will again be in September or October. In certain circumstances, you can apply as an "at large" applicant, for which this year's deadline is in October. In any case, consider the following:

Escape Hatch to the Globe

Robert Gaudet, Jr.

Robert Gaudet, Jr., vice-chair of the ABA International Law Section Human Rights Committee, studies class actions in Europe with the support of a Fulbright grant to the European Union. He can be contacted at Robert_gaudet@stanfordalumni.org.

If you are tired of sitting in the office, calculating your time in increments, and having one week per year to travel the globe, then look into an escape hatch to the international world—the Fulbright grant.

The Fulbright grant is a prestigious award that can not only be a boon to your credentials but also give you the perfect excuse to spend up to nine months living abroad. Once you are awarded the grant, there are few formal requirements aside from writing midyear and end-of-year reports. The rest of your time abroad is yours to study, research, and learn about your host country. The idea behind the Fulbright program, initiated by Senator William J. Fulbright, who once studied at Oxford, was for students to promote international peace and understanding.

The Fulbright grant is awarded to young professionals and college graduates. Young lawyers make strong candidates for the grant because they are organized and smart. However, they rarely submit applications. Jodie Kirshner, a 2006 graduate of Columbia Law School, received a Fulbright grant to the European Union to study corporate governance as a fellow at the Centre for Business Research at Cambridge University. She said of her experience, “In preparing myself for an academic job, the Fulbright was a key way to spend a year researching and writing.”

But the scholarship is not just for academics. Anthony Milewski, a 2006 graduate of the University of Washington, received a Fulbright grant to Russia. He now practices law in the Moscow office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and said, “The Fulbright Program gives students a year to explore their interests. I really wanted to study the Russian legal system, and was able to do so by enrolling at a law school in Moscow.”

Ready to apply? First, find general information at http://us.fulbrightonline.org/thinking_general.html. You can apply as an “at-large” applicant or through your alma mater.
Second, find an advisor. If your alma mater does not provide such advice (or does a poor job of it) or is too far away, then do not despair. You can attend Fulbright application sessions at the nearest public university. The local university might offer useful comments on your particular application. A good advisor can give you a timetable and explain the formula for success.

Third, find the right country. You can only apply to one country per year. Some countries, such as Brazil, require prior knowledge of a foreign language. Others, such as the United Kingdom with 418 applicants for 25 grants in 2007–08 and Sweden with 52 applications for 10 grants, receive so many applications that the chance of success is limited.
Seek a country where professors, lecturers, PhD students, or practicing lawyers are willing to write you letters of invitation to bolster your application. You can acquire letters of invitation by looking at university Web sites for professors in your field of interest and e-mailing them. First introduce yourself, and, later, ask for contacts with interests similar to yours. Many people are surprisingly helpful. If you want to go to India, but the e-mail response from Indian professors is tepid, then simply choose another country. proposal of two pages and a concise personal statement of one page. Proposals should contain three different sections

Fourth, take the time to draft a high-quality application that explains (1) your personal background and why you are suitable for the proposal; (2) the temporal stages of your proposed research or study, e.g., an LLM program and how it will proceed; and (3) how your study will increase mutual understanding between the United States and another country.

Fifth, get three letters of recommendation from your law school professors, community leaders, lawyers, or people familiar with your work. It is not necessary to get a reference from your current employer, particularly if you wish to remain discreet.

Screening committees in the United States and the host country review applications prior to awarding any grant. What do the overseas committees look for? According to Eric Jönssson, executive director of the Swedish Fulbright Commission, his committee generally looks for an “outstanding academic record; preparation in the chosen field; any other personal qualifications which make them an outstanding candidate for study in Sweden; demonstration of exceptional promise and commitment to graduate study; adaptability to a foreign situation; [and ability to] represent the Fulbright program during and after their time in Sweden.”

Applications are due in the fall, so give yourself an entire summer, working after office hours, to get this done. It will be worth it, months later, when you are roaming around a foreign country with your newfound freedom as an ambassador of goodwill. In today’s global environment of cross-border transactions, international clients, and multinational law firms, spending a year studying another country’s laws will do more than recharge your batteries. It will make you a better lawyer.

Revolution of Dignity Art Exhibit at School of Law

From August - November 2015, Professor Christopher Kelley has arranged for the School of Law to host the Revolution of Dignity Art Exhibit featuring images from Ukraine's' Maidan 2013-2014. The art created during and after the Revolution of Dignity captures the extraordinary hope, spirit, and promise of great change. For those who were on the Maidan, it stirs recalled emotions that are at once joyous and sad. Brave men and women—some young; some old—died defending the Maidan and what it represented—the beginning of an era when Ukrainians could enjoy the dignity of a people committed to the rule of law.

Ukraine is the largest country located entirely within Europe with a long regionally, culturally, and politically diverse history. It gained its current independence in 1991 when the Soviet Union imploded. Since then, Ukrainians have struggled to gain what seven decades of Soviet rule denied it—the rule of law, which is now guaranteed by Ukraine’s constitution. This struggle has been marked by a series of mass protests, two of which drew prolonged worldwide attention—the Orange Revolution in 2004 and the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014. Both “revolutions” reflected Ukrainians’ desire to overcome political and other corruption.

The Revolution of Dignity began on November 21, 2014, as news spread that then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had suspended preparations to sign the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. This Agreement would have advanced Ukrainian-EU integration and, within Ukraine, European values, including the rule of law. A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest followed, largely centered on Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). On November 30, 2013, riot police known as the "Berkut" attacked and injured scores of protesters near the Maidan. This enraged Ukrainians, solidified the Revolution of Dignity, and led to almost three months of massive demonstrations on the Maidan and elsewhere. Before the Revolution ended on February 23, 2014, more than one hundred people had died in the struggle against the government’s repression and corruption. Every Ukrainian was affected by the Revolution of Dignity, though some were threatened by values it embodied, values distinctly different from those encased in Ukraine’s Soviet legacy.

The Maidan witnessed a great explosion of all forms and genres of art, but posters were the most effective and popular. From original satirical works to manipulated images from internet memes, the posters quickly reacted to and documented major developments during the months leading up to the Maidan and while events there escalated until the reign of sniper fire ended.

Curated by Natalia Moussienko and Andriy Sydorenko from the Modern Art Research Institute in Kyiv, the Exhibit was first displayed in Kyiv in September 2014 and is now traveling around the world. The University of Arkansas School of Law is honored to host the Exhibit and is grateful for those who helped bring it to the Law School. Special thanks goes to the Ukraine Fulbright Program, the Kennan Institute, the Modern Art Research Institute, and the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Pictured from left are LL.M. Candidates
 Mark Opanasiuk and Valeriya Zayets
with Michael Ramirez, and Kim Tomlinson
from the University of Arkansas Art Department

Of special note, this fall the LL.M. Program will be joined by two Ukrainian Candidates, Mark Opanasiuk and Valeriya Zayats. Mark and Valeriya together with the University of Arkansas Art Department installed the Revolution of Dignity. We are especially grateful to Mark and to Valeriya for their part in bringing this exhibit to life.

For more information on the exhibit, please join us on Facebook.

Professor Kelley in Ukraine

Associate Professor of Law Christoper Kelley returned to Ukraine in May to teach four sessions in legal writing to students at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and to colleagues at at the Inyurpolis Law Firm (ILF) in Kharkiv.












Photos from an article posted on the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law website show Professor Kelley meeting with faculty, and being presented with a book by the Rector of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University. Professor Kelley will be assisting in the organization of the first summer school for academic credit in the history of Ukrainian legal education. Yaroslav Mudryi was one of the three top law schools in the Soviet Union and remains a top law school in Ukraine today. Professor Kelley also taught two classes at the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University.
 

Legal Writing Class, Inyurpolis Law Firm

Legal Writing Class, Yaroslav Mudryi

Law Professor at UN Meeting on World Investment

U of A Law Professor Uche Ewelukwa was in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 29 and 30 for the United Nations’ Peer Review Meeting on the World Investment Report 2015. The meeting brought together a group of experts on international investment agreements at the invitation of the United Nations.

“Professor Ewelukwa’s work with the World Investment Report showcase her impressive standing in the global community,” said Stacy Leeds, dean of the School of Law. “This is a shining example of the law school’s international service and global reach.”

In addition to Ewelukwa’s work with the World Investment Report, the School of Law has several international initiatives, including the Russia Law Summer Program, the Cambridge Study Abroad Program and the Law and Cultural Heritage summer course that will feature a class trip to Rome this May.

Ewelukwa is the Arkansas Bar Foundation Professor and recently accepted a book publication offer from Oxford University Press. She is an active member of the American Bar Association Section on International Law and currently serves as the co-chair of the Committee on Investment and Development, the vice-chair of the International Intellectual Property Rights Committee, as well as the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility of the association. Ewelukwa is also an active member of the American Society of International Law and currently serves as the co-chair of the Intellectual Property Interest Group and the co-chair of the Africa Interest Group. She is the secretary general of the African Society of International Law.

Visit the law school website for the original article.

Fulbright Scholar Program: Field of Law

The announcement below is courtesy of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program

The Fulbright Scholar Program offers teaching, research or combined teaching and research awards in over 125 countries for the 2016-2017 academic year. Opportunities are available for college and university faculty and administrators, as well as for professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, independent scholars and many others. 

This year, the Fulbright Scholar Program is offering over 80 awards in the field of Law. Exciting opportunities are available in many countries, including but not limited to: 

• Bulgaria: Law
• Burma: All Disciplines (Law among preferred disciplines)
• East Asia and the Pacific: Cross-Strait Studies
• Ghana: Law
• Jamaica: All Disciplines (Law among preferred disciplines)
• Jordan: Public Policy and International Relations
• Nepal: All Disciplines (Law among preferred disciplines)
• Norway: International Courts and Tribunals
• Sweden: Fulbright-Lund University Chair in Public International Law 

For further awards in the field of Law, please visit our new Opportunities in Law webpage. There you will find award highlights and examples of successful projects in the discipline. 

For eligibility factors, detailed application guidelines and review criteria, please follow this link. You may also wish to register for one of our webinars or join our online community, My Fulbright, a resource center for applicants interested in the program.  

Applicants must be U.S. citizens and the current competition will close on August 3, 2015.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding any of the opportunities listed above or the Fulbright Scholar Program in general. 

The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. For more information, visit eca.state.gov/fulbright.

Global Anti-Corruption Officer and Vice-President of Wal-Mart to join Rule of Law Class

We are pleased to share that tomorrows Rule of Law Class will be joined by special guest Tom Gean, Global Anti-Corruption Officer and Vice-President of WalMart. This is an honor and a wonderful opportunity for us. Mr. Gean began his legal career as an associate at Alston & Bird LLP. He then became the Prosecuting Attorney for Sebastian County and, later, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. He joined Walmart in 2004 as its Chief Legal Compliance Officer (U.S.) and Vice-President. He became Walmart's Global Anti-Corruption Officer and Vice-President in 2012.

Mr. Gean received his law degree from Vanderbilt University. He earned his Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was captain of the U of A swimming team.

As we've previously reported, University of Arkansas School of Law Associate Professor Christopher Kelley has taught a Rule of Law course for the J.D. and LL.M. students at Arkansas for a number of years. While in the past, the course has always included live video-conferenced discussions with attorneys from other countries, this year the student body in the course is also transnational. Students from the well-regarded Taras Shevchenko Faculty of Law in Kyiv, Ukraine are participating in the class by live video conference.

Professor Christopher Kelley teaches at Belarusian State University

In March, Professor Christopher R. Kelley returned to Minsk to teach a course in Negotiation Skills to  undergraduate students majoring in Business Administration and English at the School of Business and Management of Technology of Belarusian State University. Professor Kelley was the first American law professor to teach at the Belarusian State University Law Faculty in Minsk, Belarus. As noted in the article posted on the BSU webpage, Professor Kelley's extensive professional business, legal and teaching experience, obtained in the US, as well as in Lithuania, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus and other countries allowed Professor Kelly to accumulate and compare his impressions and experiences and develop a practical course on negotiating. More information on Professor Kelley's visit may be found on the BSU webpage.

Law & Cultural Heriatge Course to be Offered at the School of Law

Last Spring, the University of Arkansas School of Law offered a collaborative course in Law & Cultural Heritage. We are pleased to report that this popular course will return this summer, and will once again include an option for field work in Rome. The course is facilitated by Don Judges, Associate Dean of Graduate & Experiential Learning, and is taught by visiting professors Stephen J. Cribari and Barbara Wold. 

Professor Cribari is a Visiting Professional Specialist at the University of Notre Dame Law School and former co-Director of Notre Dame Law School’s London Summer Programme. Professor Cribari is a true Renaissance Man. Published poet and playwright, expert in Art and Cultural Heritage, Evidence, and Criminal Law and procedure, he has taught in law schools across the United States, in London, for the Weisman Art Museum and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, at the FBI training academy in Quantico, for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, for the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, and for Marine JAG.


Professor Wold is an archaeologist, anthropologist, and lawyer. She has advised museums on Native American and international repatriation, taught courses in Law & Cultural Property and Museum Legal Issues at the University of Minnesota Law School and the University of Arkansas School of Law, and worked in University and Museum General Counsel offices in private practice concentrating on cultural and intellectual property law. Professor Wold has spoken at international assemblies on issues of cultural property, museum law, and intellectual property rights and regulations. When not in Fayetteville,  Professors Wold and Cribari are able to join the class by video conference.

 A description of the course is included below:

Art and antiquities inspire, intrigue, and delight.  And they cause legal problems. Collectors, museum curators, archaeologists, academics, politicians, legislators, military commanders, indigenous peoples, religious groups– all have interests in the rare and the beautiful.  Those interests may be artistic or scientific, economic or political, cultural or religious.  Art and antiquities are also commodities: they can be owned, loaned, sold, stolen, legally or illegally exported and imported.

We will consider these interests through questions such as whether the Elgin Marbles should be in the British Museum or Greece; the use of cultural property laws to take down or erect national cultural and political barriers; whether antiquities have artistic, religious, or only scientific, value; whether museums play a significant role in today’s world; whether museum directors and art conservers are bound by ethical constraints; whether the cultural heritage of First Peoples should be specially preserved.

In Rome, we will concentrate on the resolution of Holocaust-era claims regarding Nazi looting of art, illegal traffic in stolen antiquities, and the problems presented by cultural property during armed conflict. Law & Cultural Heritage Class includes required five days of classes (2 credits) and optional field work in Rome, Italy for one additional credit, May 16-22, 2015.

Documentary from Ukraine: Six Months of Freedom

Our thoughts continue to be with our friends, colleagues, and alumni in Ukraine.

Professor Kelley is currently in Kyiv, Ukraine teaching a short course in negotiations and meeting with colleagues there.  He sent us a link to a documentary film project that is a pro bono initiative of the Inyurpolis Law Firm (ILF), a law firm that he is affiliated with as a consultant. ILF is based in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The project is called Six Months of Freedom, and they released the first of a series of independent films that will be produced. The project's stated objective is "to create an information platform free from politics and vested interest of media moguls, as well as to develop independent media and documentary films."

This first film tells the stories of the doctors and nurses of the Kharkiv military hospital, the Kharkiv volunteers, and the injured Ukrainian soldiers.  Professor Kelley describes the documentary as providing "a look at the war that you will not see elsewhere."

We were moved by the documentary, and it is posted here for your review.  Note that it is in Ukrainian, with English subtitles. Many of the images and the human spirit depicted transcend language.

Arkansas Rule of Law Course Connects with Students from Ukraine

For a number of years, University of Arkansas School of Law Associate Professor Christopher Kelley has taught a Rule of Law course for the J.D. and LL.M. students at Arkansas.  The course explores the meaning of the Rule of Law and why it matters.

While in the past, the course has always included live video-conferenced discussions with attorneys from other countries, this year the student body in the course is also transnational.

Students from the well-regarded Taras Shevchenko Faculty of Law in Kyiv, Ukraine are participating in the class by live video conference.

This not only allows the Ukrainian students access to this important course, it provides Arkansas students with a chance to interact with students from another country -  a country in the midst of a powerful reform movement and often on the world's center-stage.

We were delighted to see Professor Kelley, the Rule of Law course, and the opportunity for participating featured on the website of the American Common Law Center (ACLC) at Taras Shevchenko.

The ACLC is a new center with a "vision that highlights education, research and law practice."

It was created within the framework of cooperation between Ukraine and the United States in order to promote cultural exchange, education, pursue research, put forward proposals for legal reforms in Ukraine, defend human rights in a law clinic and enhance professional development of а individuals.

The ACLC provides students with "a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of native speakers without crossing any borders."

We are proud to assist in that process.

Connecting with Lithuania

On January 12, Professor Christopher Kelley taught a negotiation skills workshop at the Create for Lithuania program in Vilnius, Lithuania.  As describe on its LinkedIn page, " 'Kurk Lietuvai' ("Create for Lithuania") is a one-year rotation based young professionals programme launched by "Invest Lithuania" in partnership with the Lithuanian Government, aimed at Lithuanian youth who have completed their studies in foreign academic institutions.

The team of 20 selected young professionals works with strategic governmental projects of a wide scope and is provided with an opportunity to participate in high-level decision-making processes. Individual 4-months rotations in the public sector are tailor-made according to participants’ backgrounds and preferences. Participants present their projects to the Lithuanian Government as well as the public at the end of each rotation."

This is the second time Professor Kelley has taught negotiation skills in the Create for Lithuania program. Dean Julija Kirsiene of the Vytautas Magnus University Law Faculty in Kaunas, Lithuania, taught the workshop with Professor Kelley. During the week of December 6, Professor Kelley taught negotiation skills for a week at the European Humanities University, a Belarusian university "in exile" in Vlinius, Lithuania. This was the fourth time he has taught for a week at EHU.