The Faculty of Law congratulates Professor Joanna Harrington on her selection for the prestigious Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair in Policy Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. "I am humbled and overwhelmed to hear that I have been selected as a Fulbright Scholar and I am very excited to spent next winter at The University of Texas at Austin," Harrington said. "UT-Austin, and its Department of Government, is a real gem within American higher education and I hope to make the most of this opportunity, combining my interests in law and public policy, while also learning more about the U.S."
Harrington's research project under the Fulbright program will focus on the procedural and remedial aspects of international human rights litigation, particularly in urgent situations of grave human rights violations. She hopes to use her work to recommend reforms to instill greater confidence in the international human rights institutions. Harrington explains that it is a timely topic, with applications for urgent action in cases of inhumane treatment on the rise. The Canada-U.S. focus also entails an examination of death penalty cases from the United States and national security deportation cases from Canada.
Professor Harrington is one of a handful of Canadian academics to be selected to spend time at an American host institution under the Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chairs program. Fulbright Canada is a joint, bi-national, treaty-based organization created to encourage mutual understanding between Canada and the United States through academic and cultural exchange. Fulbright Canada is supported by the Canadian Government, through Foreign Affairs Trade and Development Canada, by the United States Government, through the Department of State, and by a diverse group of corporate sponsors, charitable trusts, and university partners. It is governed by an independent Board of Directors and operates out of Ottawa.
A University of Alberta news story on the award can be found here.