Professor Malone Awarded Fulbright Distinguished Chair in International Environmental Policy

Linda Malone, the Marshall-Wythe Foundation Professor of Law at William & Mary Law School, has been awarded the Distinguished Fulbright Chair in International Environmental Law for 2009-2010. Awards in the Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program are viewed as the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program. Eight hundred faculty and professionals are named as Fulbright Grant Scholars each year, but Distinguished Chairs are only awarded to approximately forty individuals worldwide. As the Distinguished Fulbright Chair, Malone will research and lecture at the Polytechnic Institute of Turin in Italy from March to June 2010.

"Professor Malone's contributions as a scholar and teacher have enriched our law school community and the international academic community for many years," said Dean Davison M. Douglas. "I join with my colleagues here at William & Mary in congratulating her on her recognition as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair."

Malone said that she was "deeply honored by this unique opportunity and exceptional award.  My research and involvement in the initiatives to enforce international environmental law have never been more exciting and critical to sustainability, particularly in relation to climate change.  To be teaching at such a renowned institution, at such a crucial time in controlling climate change, will be of enormous benefit to my international and American students when sharing our views and experiences.  I have spoken to several past Chairs in a variety of programs and locations, and each one of them has said it was one of the best experiences of their careers."

Although Malone is no stranger to traveling the globe, this will be a unique opportunity for her both professionally and personally. In Italy, Malone's office will be located in the Castello del Valentino, a castle in the historic center of Turin, which was built in the early 1500s and served as one of the residences of the Royal House of Savoy.  The Castello del Valentino is the home of the Dipartimento Interateneo Territorio (DITER), Italy's only inter-university research center, coordinated by the Polytechnic Institute and the University of Turin. The city of Turin is located along the Po River near the Italian Alps and was the site of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

While in Turin, her research will focus on sustainable development, particularly on developing public policies that will assist societies in reaching environmental sustainability.  She will also study protected areas management and international cooperation for nature and landscape conservation. As the Turin Chair, she will have the opportunity to teach courses on International Environmental Policies and Legislation. 

Malone is recognized internationally as an expert on environmental policy.  Her specialty is international environmental law, although she has worked extensively in numerous areas of international law over the course of her career.  Malone is the author or co-author of twelve books and has also written numerous articles and book chapters. Her recent books include Environmental Law, Policy, and Practice (2007), and she also co-authored Defending the Environment: Civil Society Strategies to Enforce International Environmental Law (2003, revised ed. 2006), mass marketed by Island Press.

"On a personal level," said Malone, "it is a very different experience to live in another country and experience its culture as a resident, from visiting a country as a traveling tourist. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunities I do from my human rights and environmental work to have more in-depth occasions to experience different cultures and countries, stable and unstable, peaceful and torn by conflict."

The Fulbright Scholar Program was established in 1946 as the result of Senator J. William Fulbright's efforts.  It is administered by the U.S. Department of State, with the goal of seeking to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.  Today, the Fulbright Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide, making it the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, and university teaching.

The Fulbright Distinguished Chair is Malone's second Fulbright honor.  She received the Fulbright/OSCE Regional Research Award in 1998 for her work on women's and children's rights in Eastern Europe during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Her work has also been recognized by the National Endowment for the Humanities, State Department, and Virginia Women's Bar Association, among other organizations.

Malone has been a member of the William & Mary law faculty since 1988, and is founder and director of the Law School's Human Security Law Program. She received her B.A. from Vassar, her J.D. from Duke University and her LL.M. from the University of Illinois.