Panels

Corporate Responsibility

Shareholders v. Stakeholders: Can Corporations Be Profitable and Responsible?

The "Shareholder-Stakeholder" debate is increasingly relevant to American business. The shareholder view sees corporations as instruments of the owners with profit as the primary objective. On the other hand, many view corporations as large partnerships with obligations to multiple stakeholders. Executives are often placed in the center of the fray, and may risk being forced out by shareholder boards for failure to place profits first.

In the wake of corporate accounting scandals, government policymakers hope to shift the priorities of corporations toward stakeholder accountability through legislation. To what extent are shareholders and stakeholders really at odds in corporate environments? Can legislation tip the balance in the shareholder-stakeholder debate, or will shareholders merely see it as an obstacle to higher profits?

Panelists:

• R. Edward Freeman, University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration; Director, Olsson Center for Applied Ethics
• Joseph Gladden, Jr., former Executive Vice President and General Counsel, the Coca-Cola Company
• E. Norman Veasey, Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges; former Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court

Moderator:

• Michael P. Dooley, University of Virginia School of Law, William S. Potter Professor of Law; Director of Graduate Legal Studies

R. Edward Freeman

R. Edward Freeman heads Darden's Olsson Center for Applied Ethics, one of the world's leading academic centers for the study of ethics. Mr. Freeman has written or edited 10 books on business ethics, environmental management, and strategic management. His latest book, Environmentalism and the New Logic of Business, How Firms Can be Profitable and Leave Our Children a Living Planet, helps executives meet the challenge of being profitable while being environmentally responsible. He has also authored more than 40 Darden case studies. Mr. Freeman serves on the advisory board of the University of Virginia Institute for Practical Ethics.

Before joining the Darden School in 1986, Mr. Freeman taught at the University of Minnesota and the Wharton School. He has received teaching awards at all three schools.

Joseph Gladden, Jr.

Joseph Gladden, Jr. is teaching Governance and Control of the Multi-National Business at the law school this semester. He was managing editor of the Virginia Law Review and is a member of the Order of the Coif. He clerked for the Hon. John C. Godbold of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit after graduating from law school. He was an associate and later partner at King & Spalding until 1985, when he joined the Coca-Cola Company. He retired as Coca-Cola's Executive Vice-President and General Counsel in 2001. Mr. Gladden received his LL.B. from UVA School of Law in 1967, and his B.A. from Emory University in 1964.

E. Norman Veasey

E. Norman Veasey is a senior partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and teaches a professional responsibility course at the law school. The former chief justice of Delaware, Mr. Veasey stepped down from the Delaware Supreme Court in May 2004, after serving for 12 years. He was awarded the Order of the First State by Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner, the highest honor for meritorious service the state's governor can grant.

Mr. Veasey is a director of the Institute for Law and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, a member of the American Law Institute, the International Advisory Board of the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation, and numerous other professional organizations. He is a frequent panelist and lecturer on corporation law, corporate governance, ethics and professionalism.

Mr. Veasey received his A.B. degree from Dartmouth College in 1954 and his LL.B. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1957. At the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he was a member of the Board of Editors and the senior editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

Criminal Law

Sexual Assault in the Wake of Recent High Profile Cases

This panel will examine ways in which some recent high profile cases dealing with sexual assault reflect and inform the everyday dealings of prosecutors, defense attorneys, and policy makers. Such high profile cases involve celebrities, professional athletes, and the military. Specifically, the panel will consider the alleged assault on the Duke University lacrosse team and the Kobe Bryant case. Although these sexual assault cases are only a minor portion of the criminal law, they influence how other cases are viewed and handled within the judicial system.

Panelists:

• Kate Connelly, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia
• Kristine Hall, Sexual Violence Advocacy Manager, Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance
• Maj. Howard Hoege, JAG School, Charlottesville, Virginia

Moderator:

• Anne M. Coughlin, University of Virginia School of Law, O.M. Vicars Professor of Law; Barron F. Black Research Professor

Kate Connelly

Kate Connelly is an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, where she is a senior prosecutor in the Federal Major Crimes section. She investigates, indicts, and prosecutes Internet crimes against children, weapons offenses, violent crimes, prostitution offenses, and bank robberies. Her previous assignments in the U.S. Attorney's Office include two years with the Superior Court Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Unit and a specialized caseload involving child victims. She has investigated, indicted, and prosecuted domestic violence cases involving assault with intent to kill, aggravated assault, and cruelty to children, and sexual assault cases, including a case involving a serial rapist who was convicted of 26 felonies. She is a member of the office-wide DNA working group and the District of Columbia Human Trafficking Task Force. Prior to joining the United States Attorney's Office in 2002, Ms. Connelly spent two years as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Mary M. Lisi, United States District Court Judge for the District of Rhode Island. Ms. Connelly graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2000, and Smith College in 1995.

Kristine Hall

Kristine Hall recently joined the staff of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance. She is currently the Sexual Violence Advocacy Manager, working on public policy issues to enhance Virginia's prevention and intervention efforts. Prior to joining the Alliance staff, Ms. Hall was the Director of the Sexual Assault Resource Agency in Charlottesville. Her experience includes over 12 years of service as an advocate, counselor, trainer, and program director.

Howard Hoege

Major Howard Hoege teaches criminal law at the JAG School in Charlottesville. He served as trial counsel in Iraq in 2003, where he prosecuted three courts-martial in Mosul, Iraq and trained Iraqi law enforcement officials and judges in the rule of law. In 2004, he returned to the States and became Senior Trial Counsel for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1994 and earned his J.D. from U.Va. Law in 2002. He earned his LL.M from the JAG School in Charlottesville in 2006.

Education Law

Federally-Funded Education Vouchers: Hurricane Katrina Relief and Beyond

Will the 2005 Hurricane Education Recovery Act effectively become a gateway for allocation of public funds toward attendance at private schools? The legislation, passed in 2005, was intended as a one-time emergency allocation of funds toward both public and non-public schools affected by Hurricane Katrina. With the effects of Katrina still being felt, it remains possible that further public funds will be allocated to non-public schools and render the "one-time" language ineffective. Education vouchers have been hotly debated as a means of equalizing access to education. Panelists will explore whether a line can or has been clearly established through the legislation to limit or otherwise mitigate its effects as a gateway, and discuss the future of education vouchers generally.

Panelists:

• Gregory M. Cork, Executive Vice President for Business Development and General Counsel, Washington Scholarship Fund
• Andy Rotherham, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Education Sector
• John G. Stepanovich, Lentz, Stepanovich & Bergethon

Moderator:

• Tomiko Brown-Nagin, University of Virginia School of Law, Professor of Law and History, F. Palmer Weber Research Professor in Civil Liberties and Human Rights

Gregory M. Cork

Gregory M. Cork is Executive Vice President for Business Development and General Counsel for the Washington Scholarship Program. Mr. Cork oversees revenue generation for both of WSF's main programs -- the privately-funded Signature Scholarship Program and the federally-funded Opportunity Scholarship Program. As General Counsel, Mr. Cork manages WSF's legal affairs and provides counsel to the organization's officers, staff, and Board, focusing primarily on internal matters. Prior to joining WSF, Mr. Cork served as Director of Corporate Relations and General Counsel for College Summit, a national non-profit organization whose mission is to increase college enrollment among low-income high school students across the country. Before entering the non-profit education world, Mr. Cork spent nearly ten years in private law practice as a litigation attorney. He earned his bachelor's (1987) and law (1992) degrees from the University of Virginia.

Andy Rotherham

Andrew Rotherham is co-founder and co-director of Education Sector, an independent national education policy think tank. Mr. Rotherham is also a member of the Virginia State Board of Education, author of the blog Eduwonk.com, and a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute. He is a regular commentator on education in print and on radio and television, and has testified before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. In 1998, Mr. Rotherham launched the 21st Century Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, which he directed until 2005. Mr. Rotherham previously served as Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and led the White House Domestic Policy Council education team. Mr. Rotherham taught briefly and worked as a consultant before becoming a policy analyst for the American Association of School Administrators. He earned a bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech and a master's in education from the University of Virginia. He is currently completing a doctorate in political science at U.Va.

John G. Stepanovich

John G. Stepanovich is a founding partner of Lentz, Stepanovich & Bergethon responsible for management of the firm's advocacy and constitutional law practices. Prior to forming his private practice, he was senior counsel and director of operations for the American Center for Law and Justice in Virginia Beach, an international public interest law firm, where he was engaged in constitutional and civil rights litigation. He has over 20 years of experience in courtrooms across the country, including matters attracting national recognition and five cases before the United States Supreme Court.

He is also an adjunct professor of law at Regent University, where he teaches First Amendment Law and pre-trial procedure and developed and taught Practicum, a practical course for law students to gain experience in litigation.

In 1981, he received his degree in Political Science, Bachelor of Science, from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio and in 1984, his Juris Doctor from the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.

Mr. Stepanovich has appeared on national television and radio and as a lecturer on constitutional issues.

Employment Law

Will You Be Automatically Saving for Retirement? Recent Pension Law Reforms and the Future of Retirement Funding

Saving for retirement is critically important for United States workers. However, a significant portion of the workforce is often ill prepared to retire and/or does not take advantage of retirement saving opportunities. Employer-sponsored retirement savings plans play a key role in retirement planning. Many workers are covered by traditional defined-benefit pension plans, which often take the form of a fixed monthly income. Over the last several decades there has been a shift toward defined-contribution plans, such as 401(k) plans, which involve individuals setting aside wages to invest. Among other changes, the recently enacted Pension Protection Act of 2006 included provisions aimed at increasing retirement savings plan participation by allowing employers to automatically enroll employees in 401(k) plans, potentially affecting the way that millions of workers save for retirement. This panel will examine the recent changes in retirement funding laws, the issues involved with reform, and the goals and future challenges of national retirement savings policy.

Panelists:

• Carol Gold, Executive in Residence, Federal Executive Institute, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Linda Way-Smith, Senior Counsel, Constellation Energy Group

Moderator:

• J. H. Verkerke, University of Virginia School of Law, Professor of Law; Director, Program for Employment and Labor Law Studies

Carol Gold

Carol Gold is an Executive-in-Residence at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville. Previously, during her 30-year career with the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor, Ms. Gold administered federal programs that provide retirement income to the American workforce. Before coming to Charlottesville, Ms. Gold was Director of Employee Plans in the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Business Operating Division of IRS. She was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1996 and graduated from FEI's Leadership for a Democratic Society Program in 2004, where she was elected Class Speaker. She received Commissioner Awards from three of the four Business Operating Divisions of IRS for collaborative cross-functional achievements. Ms. Gold received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, her J.D. from Boston University School of Law, and an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a charter fellow and serves on the Board of Governors of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

Linda Way-Smith

Linda Way-Smith is Senior Counsel at Constellation Energy Group, a Fortune 200 competitive energy company based in Baltimore. At Constellation, Ms. Way-Smith provides employee benefits, employment and labor law advice for a workforce of more than 9,000 employees across the United States, Canada and Europe. Prior to joining Constellation, she was the Director of Employee Benefits and HR Governmental Affairs at the University of Virginia. Before joining the University, Ms. Way-Smith was an associate in the Labor and Employment Law section of the Washington, D.C. office of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius.

Ms. Way-Smith is a 1997 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. She earned her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, at American University, and an M.A. in American Government from Georgetown University. She and her husband, Daniel Smith (UVA Law '97), currently reside in Baltimore, Maryland with their two children.

Human Rights Law

Never Again: The Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur

Human Rights Watch has reported that since 2003 more than 200,000 civilians have died as the result of an armed conflict between the government of Sudan and rebel groups in Darfur. The government's counter-insurgency operations have included war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. Widespread killings, rapes, and attacks by Sudanese government forces and Janjaweed militias have forced half the population into camps. What needs to be done to address this problem? And why has the international community been unable to stop it?

Panelists:

• Georgette Gagnon, Director of the Africa Division, Human Rights Watch
• Daowd Salih, President, Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
• Greg Stanton, Founder, Genocide Watch

Moderator:

• Doug Ford, University of Virginia School of Law, Lecturer, General Faculty; Director, Immigration Law Clinic

Georgette Gagnon

Georgette Gagnon is deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Africa division, and led the organization's mission to Khartoum and Darfur, which resulted in a November 2004 report, "If We Return We Will be Killed." She previously served as Director of Human Rights for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ms. Gagnon has served with UN human rights field operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in Rwanda, consulted to CIDA in human rights and rule of law, and designed projects of technical assistance and cooperation in China and India. She was appointed to the Canadian Assessment Mission to Sudan, and participated in a fact-finding mission in Sudan formed by the U.S. Secretary of State. Ms. Gagnon, a graduate of the University of Calgary, holds her law degree from Osgoode Hall and a Masters of law from the University of Essex in the UK. In 2003, she became the first woman and the youngest recipient to be awarded the prestigious Walter S. Tarnopolsky Human Rights Award, presented annually to a Canadian resident who has made an outstanding contribution to domestic or international human rights.

Daowd Salih

Daowd Salih is a founding board member and President of the Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy. A former assistant field officer for the German Red Cross, Swiss Red Cross and Sudanese Red Crescent, Mr. Salih came to the United States as a refugee in exile from Darfur. He was forced to leave Sudan due to his advocacy work on behalf of the Massaleit and other Darfurian ethnic groups. As co-author of an influential open letter to the international community entitled "The Hidden Slaughter and Ethnic Cleansing in Western Sudan," Mr. Salih was among the first activists to focus global attention on the crisis in Darfur. This report and other human rights publications have been referenced by the UN General Assembly and Secretary-General, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. In his ongoing work with Damanga, Mr. Salih has spoken at venues across the nation in an effort to educate the public about the genocide in Darfur, and to mobilize an effective response that will bring peace and justice to the region.

Click here to go to Damanga's website, www.damanga.org.

Greg Stanton

Gregory Stanton is the founder of Genocide Watch, Cambodian Genocide Project, and the International Campaign to End Genocide. He is the Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Stanton worked in the State Department, where he drafted several important United Nations Security Council resolutions. In 1994, Mr. Stanton won the American Foreign Service Association's prestigious W. Averell Harriman award for "extraordinary contributions to the practice of diplomacy exemplifying intellectual courage," for his dissent from U.S. policy on the Rwandan genocide. Since founding Genocide Watch in 1999, Mr. Stanton has been deeply involved in the UN-Cambodian government negotiations that have brought about creation of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Mr. Stanton has been a law professor at Washington and Lee University, American University and the University of Swaziland. He is now the James Farmer Professor of Human Rights at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

International Law

The Future of U.S. Detainee Policy

Since 9/11, the United States has moved away from treating terrorist suspects under the traditional system of international and domestic law and instead increasingly handled detainees under a system of military operated tribunals and detention centers. This policy has come under fire, however, for violating the human rights and its negative impact on the U.S.' image abroad. This panel will consider whether current policy toward terrorist detainees should be changed, as well as discuss possible reforms and their implications.

Panelists:

• David Graham, Executive Director, JAG School, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Linda Malone, Director, Human Rights and National Security Law Program, College of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law

Moderator:

• John Norton Moore, University of Virginia School of Law, Walter L. Brown Professor of Law; Director of the Center for National Security; Director of the Center for Oceans Law and Policy

David Graham

David E. Graham currently serves as Executive Director of the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mr. Graham is a retired Army Officer with over 30 years of experience as a military attorney. He has an extensive background in international law, with a mix of assignments in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Mr. Graham has a long history with the former Judge Advocate General's School and the University of Virginia. During his tenure with the school, he served as a professor, department head, and academic director, as well as the director of the Center for Law and Military Operations. He is a published author in multiple legal journals and has lectured extensively in both U.S. and international fora. He graduated from The University of Texas School of Law.

Linda Malone

Linda A. Malone is the Marshall-Wythe Foundation Professor of Law and director of the Human Rights and National Security Law Program at the College of William & Mary School of Law. She has authored or co-authored numerous articles and 12 books on international law, human rights, and environmental law, most recently Defending the Environment: Civil Society Strategies to Enforce International Environmental Law. She was a delegate to the U.N. Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio in 1992, co-counsel to Bosnia-Herzegovina in its genocide case against Serbia and Montenegro before the World Court, co-counsel to Paraguay in its challenge to the death penalty in Paraguay v. Virginia, and co-counsel for amicus in Padilla v. Rumsfeld and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.

In 1998 she received the Fulbright/OSCE Regional Research Award for her work on women's and children's rights in Eastern Europe and in 2002 received a grant from the National Endowment for Humanities, State Department, and International Research and Exchange Board in continuance of her work.

Ms. Malone received her B.A. from Vassar, her J.D. from Duke, where she was research and managing editor of the Duke Law Journal, and her LL.M. from the University of Illinois.

Poverty Law

Welfare Reform Reformed: New Challenges for Recipients and States

In 2005, Congress reauthorized funding for welfare (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or "TANF") and approved important reforms to the program, all with relatively little public fanfare or media attention. These reforms, along with tough new implementing regulations issued in 2006, are now beginning to have profound effects at the state level, as states struggle to comply with the new federal mandates and welfare recipients struggle to meet new expectations. Does the latest round of welfare reform build on existing successes and put teeth into the accountability standards first established in the landmark reforms of 1996? Or will it finally reveal that welfare reform's success was more rhetoric than reality? Drawing on diverse perspectives, the panel will explore the strengths and weaknesses of the recent reforms and explore what impact they may have upon state welfare agencies, welfare recipients, and low-income communities.

Panelists:

• Maureen Lane, Co-Director of the Welfare Rights Initiative, Hunter College
• Kathy Ralston, Albemarle County Department of Social Services
• Robert Rector, Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation

Moderator:

• Daniel Nagin, University of Virginia School of Law, Assistant Professor of Law; Director, Family Resources Clinic

Maureen Lane

Maureen Lane is a Fellow of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI), and Co-Director of the Welfare Rights Initiative (WRI), a grassroots student activist and leadership training organization located at Hunter College in New York City, which seeks to mobilize, empower and support women directly affected by welfare policy. Ms. Lane spearheaded WRI's successful campaign to pass New York state legislation in 2000, expanding access to education as a route out of poverty. As a DMI Fellow, Ms. Lane focuses on issues of welfare policy and higher education. As a student, Ms. Lane received welfare.

Robert Rector

Robert Rector is a prominent national expert on the issues of welfare, poverty and family structure. He has authored two books and over 100 articles and research studies on these topics. He has testified before Congress over 30 times on these and related issues. Mr. Rector was the key architect behind the federal abstinence education program that was created in 1996, and frequently advises Congress on welfare policy. He also was the central figure in designing and enacting the first major federal abstinence education program. Mr. Rector is currently Senior Research Fellow on Welfare and Family Issues at The Heritage Foundation. He has worked on welfare and poverty issues at The Heritage Foundation for the last 18 years.

Race and Law / Education

The Role of Affirmative Action in K-12 Public Schools

Three years ago, the Supreme Court decided that while public colleges could not use racial quotas in admissions decisions, institutions could consider the race of applicants. Two cases now before the court will decide whether and how schools at the K-12 level may affirmatively consider race to desegregate. This panel will discuss the issues raised by this case, as well as possible outcomes. Will or should it matter that the then-2003 Supreme Court lacked the jurisprudence of Roberts and Alito and that the current Supreme Court lacks the very judges who wrote the majority opinions in the 2003 cases? How is this case similar to and different from Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger? Are the two school plans considered in this case narrowly tailored?

Panelists:

• Audrey Anderson, Partner, Hogan & Hartson
• Tomiko Brown-Nagin, University of Virginia School of Law, Professor of Law and History, F. Palmer Weber Research Professor in Civil Liberties and Human Rights
• Roger Clegg, President and General Counsel, Center for Equal Opportunity

Moderator:

• Brandon L. Garrett, University of Virginia School of Law, Associate Professor of Law

Audrey Anderson

Audrey Anderson's practice includes representation of a variety of clients in appellate and trial matters in federal and state courts across the country, including before the U.S. Supreme Court. The primary focus of her practice is the representation of educational institutions, including public school districts, in matters that include education finance, student assignment, school desegregation, affirmative action, Title VI, and the No Child Left Behind Act. Ms. Anderson also represents corporations in a variety of disputes including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), contract disputes, and other matters. She has represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court at both the certiorari and merits stages, and before state and federal trial and appellate courts.

Ms. Anderson joined Hogan & Hartson after serving as a judicial clerk to U.S. Chief Justice, William H. Rehnquist. She also served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Harold H. Greene of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Tomiko Brown-Nagin

Tomiko Brown-Nagin is a professor of law and history at the University of Virginia and the F. Palmer Weber Research Professor in Civil Liberties and Human Rights. She has published in both law and history journals and currently is working on a book that explores African American ambivalence about liberal legalism before and after Brown v. Board of Education.

She holds a doctorate in history from Duke and a law degree from Yale, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. She clerked for the Hon. Robert L. Carter of the U. S. District Court, Southern District of New York and the Hon. Jane Roth of the United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. Dr. Brown-Nagin served as an associate professor of law and history at Washington University, St. Louis, before joining Virginia's faculty.

Dr. Brown-Nagin held the Charles Hamilton Houston Fellowship at Harvard Law School and the Samuel I. Golieb Fellowship in Legal History at New York University School of Law. She also worked as a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York.

Roger Clegg

Roger Clegg writes, speaks, and conducts research on legal issues raised by the civil rights laws. The Center for Equal Opportunity is a conservative research and educational organization based in Sterling, Virginia, that specializes in civil rights, immigration, and bilingual education issues. Mr. Clegg also is a contributing editor at National Review Online, and writes frequently for USA Today, The Weekly Standard, The Legal Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and other popular periodicals and law journals.

From 1982 to 1993, Mr. Clegg held a number of positions at the U.S. Department of Justice, including Assistant to the Solicitor General, where he argued three cases before the United States Supreme Court, and the number-two official in the Civil Rights Division and Environment Division. From 1993 to 1997, Mr. Clegg was vice president and general counsel of the National Legal Center for the Public Interest, where he wrote and edited a variety of publications on legal issues of interest to business. He is a graduate of Rice University and Yale Law School.

Race and Law / Immigration

Love Thy Neighbor? The Ethical Underpinnings and Racial Politics of Immigration Reform

As the "Melting Pot of the World," the United States of America has traditionally occupied a unique position as "the Nation of Immigrants." However, it has also historically exhibited a complicated and frequently conflicted perspective on immigration, as seen in now-discredited Chinese Exclusion Acts and now-debated Mexican-American fence. Thus, with an understanding of the importance of immigration in shaping our national self-image, this panel will focus on the ethical and racial implications of historic and current immigration policies. Specifically, the panel will identify and discuss the obligations of the United States toward its neighbors and the moral dilemmas presented by the problem of illegal immigration. In doing so, it will also consider proposals for reforming current immigration laws, such as by adjusting current visa numbers and classifications.

Panelists:

• Susan Benesch, Clinical Fellow, Georgetown University Law School
• Steven A. Camarota, Director of Research, Center for Immigration Studies
• E. Ann Matter, Associate Dean for Arts and Letters, University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences
• Naomi Mezey, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law School

Moderator:

• Kerry Abrams, University of Virginia School of Law, Associate Professor of Law; Co-Director, Center for Children, Families and the Law

Susan Benesch

Susan Benesch is a clinical fellow at the Georgetown University Law School, where she teaches asylum law. Before going to Georgetown, she worked in the asylum and refugee program of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (now Human Rights First), and directed the Refugee Program at Amnesty International USA, based in Washington, D.C. She holds a J.D. from Yale and a B.A. in History from Columbia College.

Before becoming a human rights lawyer, Ms. Benesch was a journalist overseas. She was chief staff writer in Haiti for the Miami Herald before, during, and after the 1994 U.S. invasion, and has reported from countries including Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba, Brazil, and Russia for other newspapers and magazines.

Steven A. Camarota

Steven A. Camarota is Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in public policy analysis, and a Masters degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. In recent years he has testified before Congress more than any other non-government expert on the economic and fiscal impact of immigration. He is currently under contract with the Census Bureau as the lead researcher on a project examining the quality of immigrant data in the American Community Survey. His articles on the impact of immigration have appeared in both academic journals and the popular press.

E. Ann Matter

E. Ann Matter is Associate Dean for Arts and Letters of the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Matter's teaching and research encompass the history of Christian culture, the interpretation of the Bible in the Middle Ages, women in the Christian tradition, and textual studies. She is the author of The Voice of My Beloved: The Song of Songs in Western Medieval Christianity and several critical editions of medieval texts. She also co-edited Creative Women in Medieval and Early Modern Italy: A Religious and Artistic Renaissance and The Liturgy of the Medieval Church. Dr. Matter's scholarship has been honored with her election as a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America and the receipt of Guggenheim and NEH Fellowships. Her teaching has been recognized with a Lindback Award and the College Alumni Society Outstanding Teaching Award. She joined the Penn faculty in 1976 after receiving her Ph.D. from Yale and her B.A. from Oberlin.

Naomi Mezey

Naomi Mezey, a law professor at Georgetown, will teach the short course Nationalism and Cultural Identity in February 2007 at Virginia.

Ms. Mezey served as law clerk for Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. She has been a legislative aide to former Sen. Alan Cranston and a teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota in the Department of American Studies. Her teaching fields include legislation, civil procedure, and law and culture.