Boston College Law School Professor David Wirth, director of the school's international programs, has won a Fulbright award that will enable him to lead teaching and curriculum efforts in sustainable development at a major Russian university.
During the 2016-17 academic year, Wirth will serve as Distinguished Chair in Sustainable Development at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, where he will lead an advanced course for Russian students and graduate students, give a series of lectures for the wider student body, and consult with Russian university faculty members on curriculum development and research questions in the area of sustainable development.
It's the second Fulbright Wirth has received; his previous award nearly 20 years ago supported his work with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on the relationship between environmental and security issues. The 2016-17 Fulbright also continues a longstanding interest in Russia for Wirth, who studied Russian as an undergraduate, attended graduate school in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and has worked on environmental issues related to Russia in a public policy context.
"By seriously enhancing my presence on Russian environmental issues, this award is a major juncture in my career," said Wirth. "Earning a Fulbright award is a wonderfully welcome opportunity to return to Russia under optimal circumstances, in a professional association with perhaps its most prestigious institution of higher learning."
Wirth believes his academic year in Moscow will give him useful insights into the impact of environmental matters on policy, economics and education.
"The environment is now a major foreign policy issue for all countries, including Russia," said Wirth, who represented the European Union in negotiations on global warming following the US pullout from the Kyoto Protocol, when Russian support for the agreement turned out be pivotal. "The Higher School of Economics has asked me to teach courses in international economic law, specifically on the relationship between sustainable development on the one hand and trade and foreign investment on the other.
"These are cutting-edge issues that have received insufficient attention everywhere, including in the United States and Europe."
Prior to moving to academia, Wirth was senior attorney and co-director of the Natural Resources Defense Council International Program, and attorney-adviser on international environmental and scientific affairs in the US State Department's Office of the Legal Adviser. In addition to consulting for the United Nations Development and Environment programs and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, among others, he has served on advisory boards to a number of institutions of higher learning, domestic agencies, and international organizations.
"I am deeply honored to be asked to contribute to the development of law, economics and policy at a critical time in both Russia and the rest of the world."
— Boston College Law School; additional reporting by Sean Smith, News & Public Affairs