Legomsky receives Fulbright Senior Specialists grant to Suriname

Oct. 21, 2003 -- Stephen H. Legomsky, J.D., D.Phil, the Charles F. Nagel Professor of International and Comparative Law, has received a Fulbright Senior Specialist grant for a two-week human rights project in Suriname. The grant and project were at the initiative of the U.S. State Department.

The Fulbright Senior Specialists Program offers two-to-six week grants to leading United States academics and professionals to support curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at academic institutions in 140 countries around the world.

Legomsky will be in Suriname from October 22 through November 4, 2003. While there, he will give a series of lectures to students at the Anton de Kom University in Paramaribo, faculty members, government officials, judges, and NGO representatives, on the subject of the United Nations human rights protection system. The U.S. Embassy will also schedule meetings with the U.S. ambassador to Suriname, Surinamese government officials and judges, NGO representatives, and the national media.

"I'm honored to have been asked to undertake this project and very excited to be part of it," Legomsky said. "Discussing human rights with idealistic university students who will hopefully one day start or work for human rights NGOs is one of the most effective long-term strategies for building a safe and secure society. The opportunity to talk over these issues with government officials and other policymakers is also exciting." Legomsky has done similar State Department- initiated human rights projects in Colombia and Nepal.

The Fulbright Senior Scholar Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and managed by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars.