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.

The University of Arkansas Celebrates International Education Week

On November 22, the University of Arkansas officially wrapped up its celebration of International Education Week. Read the following excerpt from the Arkansas Newswire to learn more about the events and international student enrollment at the U of A.

International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, officially observed Nov. 17-21, as an opportunity to acknowledge the benefits of international education and exchange.

The U of A celebration will begin with a reception for international scholars hosted by Chancellor G. David Gearhart at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13 at Fowler House and will conclude with a Diwali Banquet at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Fayetteville High School Performing Arts Theater.

Some of the other events that highlight opportunities for international education include:

Taste of Africa – 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, UARK Bowl on Dickson Street. The African Student Organization is creating an African wedding atmosphere to host performances, a fashion show, trivia and more. This is a ticketed event. For ticket information contact african@uark.edu.

International Dress Day – Monday, Nov. 17. Students are invited to wear their favorite international clothing, sports jersey, hat, scarf or other item for this all-day event. An International Dress Day Photo will be taken at 11 a.m. in the International Connections Lounge of the Arkansas Union to officially kick off the week’s events.

International Bazaar – 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, International Connections Lounge. Music, dance, entertainment, traditional clothing, international food and interactive activities will be available.

Hogs Abroad 101 – 4-5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, J.B. Hunt Building room 207. This peer-led information session will provide an overview of the study abroad process, including the tools needed to get started and funding opportunities.

Winter of Discontent – 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences Building room 107E. This film gives an account of Egypt on the verge of revolution through the lives of an activist, a journalist and a security officer.

Hecho en Mexico – 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, Mullins Library room 104. This documentary highlights some of contemporary Mexico’s most iconic artists and performers. A discussion will follow the screening.

Afternoon PositiviTea – 2-4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, Holcombe Hall Living Room. Students are invited to enjoy a cup of tea while learning about tea cultures from around the world.

International education is on the rise at the U of A. The campus saw international student enrollment reach an all-time high of 1,525 students for the fall 2014 term. The number of students studying abroad is also growing, as a record 800 students studied abroad during the 2013-14 academic year.

“As our international student enrollment continues to increase and as the demand for international experiences grows among our students, the need for opportunities to celebrate and learn more about international education and cultures becomes more and more important,” said Kim LaScola Needy, dean of the Graduate School and International Education.

International Education Week is being coordinated by the Office of International Students and Scholars, the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange, Spring International Language Center, the Holcombe Hall International Living and Learning Community and the International Student Organization. A full list of the week’s events may be found at iew.uark.edu.

School of Law Professor Christopher Kelley Teaches Legal Writing to Distance-Learning Students in Ukraine

Every Wednesday, Professor Chris Kelley, like so many university professors, begins his Legal Writing in English class be asking, "do we have any questions about what we went over last time?" The difference, however, is that Professor Kelley is teaching from the LL.M. study in the University of Arkansas School of Law, and his 57 students are at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, in Ukraine. The LL.M. study recently underwent extensive renovations with enhanced technology that allows faculty and students to connect with audiences and experts around the world. Students in the LL.M. program have utilized the technology to discuss food industry regulations with Helena Bottemiller Evich, a Washington D.C.-based journalist with Politico, and debate policy with Michele Simon, author of the EatDrinkPolitics blog.

Professor Kelley's international teaching history makes him both an obvious choice and an asset to the distance-learning program. Professor Kelley was a Fulbright Scholar in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in 2005 and in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, in 2011. He frequently teaches negotiations and legal writing in English variously at universities, law firms, nongovernmental organizations, and business in Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and Lithuania. He has also taught in Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. Notably, he was the first American law professor to teach at the Belarusian State University Law Faculty in Minsk, Belarus.

In addition to his international work, Professor Kelley teaches in the Agricultural & Food law LL.M. program, as well as the general J.D. program. His courses include Agriculture & the Environment, Regulation of Agricultural Markets, Issues in International Agricultural Law, Administrative Law, Transnational Negotiation, International Commercial Arbitration, Law & Development, and Rule of Law.

Professor Kelley, along with other School of Law faculty, hopes to increase the number of distance-learning opportunities available in the future.

UA Law Professor Teaches Comparative Constitutional Law in Lithuania

In late May and early June, Professor Howard Brill traveled to Vytautus Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania to teach Comparative Constitutional Law to 50 Lithuanian law students. The topics covered in the course included the War Against Terror (including the use of drones and targeted killings), Comparative Free Speech, Comparative Religious Freedom (including the ban on religious clothing worn by women in Western Europe), the protection of minority rights (including the Roma in Europe), and secession from the nation (including Quebec, Crimea, and Scotland).

Upon completion of the program, Professor Brill commented, “all students in Lithuania now begin learning English at an early grade, unlike their parents who learned Russian. Vytautus Magnus University is a new institution. The faculty of law has created a program drawing upon American experiences. I found the students eager to learn, interested in different teaching and learning styles, and most knowledgeable about the world.”

With a population of 3 million, Lithuania is approximately half the size of Arkansas. Though it gained independence after World War I, Lithuania was occupied first by the Germans at the beginning of World War II, then by the Soviets after the liberation. Lithuania remained a part of the Soviet Union until March 1990, when it again declared its independence. Since that time, a democratic Lithuania has sought closer ties with the West, joining both NATO and the European Union.

Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania, has long been a leading center of economic, academic, and cultural activity. It sits at the confluence of Lithuania’s two largest rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris, and is about one hour away from the capital of Vilnius. It was founded in the 11th century and joined the Hanseatic League in the 15th century. Napoleon passed through the city both during his invasion of, and his eventual retreat from, Russia. In addition to this rich history, Kaunas is also famous for its basketball team, Zalgiris.

While in Kaunas, Professor Brill spoke at an International Conference on Legal Ethics, sponsored by Vytautus Magnus University. The speakers were from Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Belgium, and the United States. Professor Brill’s topic was teaching methods for Professional Responsibility: the use of role playing, actual cases, and movies.

Inaugural Russia Law Summer Program a Success

Law students Austin Lucas, Benjamin Mackey, Christina Cole, Cristen Handley, Jacob Kerksieck, Kaylyn Turner, Maria Korzendorfer and Nick Stallings all took part in the first ever Russia Law Summer Program, which included two weeks of classes in Fayetteville and eight nights in St. Petersburg. As part of the program, students were required to write on subjects pertaining to Russian Literature, Cinema, and Culture, and attend a variety of lectures addressing topics such as The Russian Constitution, The Russian Legal System, Comparative Religious Freedom, Secession and Breakup of Nations, Russian Civilizations and Cultural Dimensions, and Human Rights. Upon completion of the course, each student earned two hours of ungraded credit.

While in St. Petersburg, the students stayed in a dormitory in the heart of the city, operated by the St. Petersburg University of Finance and Economics, and visited the legal department of INTRATOOL, an oil and gas company, as well as DCO, LLC; a legal consulting firm. In addition to their studies, the students were able to take a boat trip on the Neva River and canals, visit both Catherine Palace and Alexander Palace, tour The State Hermitage Museum, and attend a performance of Swan Lake at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory.

Faculty and students agree that the program exceed all expectations, and efforts are being made to repeat the program in 2015.