Law professor re-elected to International Court of Justice

GW Law School professor Thomas Buergenthal was re-elected to the International Court of Justice last month. The only American justice on the court, Buergenthal is one of 15 judges to serve on the ICJ, the judicial arm of the United Nations.

“(Buergenthal) is world known for his negotiating skills, ability to handle difficult situations, his scholarly knowledge of law and for his writing abilities,” said Jack Friedenthal, former dean of the law school, who hired Buergenthal in 1988. “Nobody is more qualified for this position.”

A specialist in international law and human rights law, Buergenthal was born in Kielce, Poland, and is a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen. Prior to his first appointment to the World Court in 2000, Buergenthal served as dean of the American University Washington College of Law and worked as a professor of international law at the University of Texas and Emory University.

“He was a huge asset to GW, and he still is,” Friedenthal said. “He changed the (international and comparative law program) into a major national program and built it up so that it’s ranked now as one of the top international law programs in the country.”

-Marissa Levy

Graduate gets prestigious Marshall Scholarship

Julia Rafal, a 2004 summa cum laude GW graduate, has been awarded a 2006 Marshall Scholarship. As one of the 43 winners of the scholarship, Rafal will use her award, valued at more than $60,000, to pursue a doctorate in Inclusive Education and Comparative Education at the University of Cambridge in England.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity not only to study in the UK, but to work and teach there as well,” Rafal said.

GW’s last Marshall Scholarship winner was in 1999; there were two GW finalists for the award in 2004.

“The Marshall Scholarships seek out students who achieve at the highest levels in the classroom and beyond, and Julia clearly made the most of every opportunity she enjoyed at GW, whether in academics, research, public service or theater,” said Francis DuVinage, deputy director of the Center for Undergraduate Fellowship and Research.

Rafal is currently teaching at Poe Cottage School in the Bronx, N.Y., while working toward her master’s degree at the City University of New York-Lehman College through her involvement in the Teach for America program.

After her two years of study at Cambridge, Rafal plans to put her degrees in inclusive education – a belief that all students, regardless of ability, should be made to feel a part of the school community – into action in the United States.

“Ultimately, my goal is to return to the U.S. and design and implement charter schools nationwide based on the inclusion models used in the UK,” Rafal said.

-Lizzie Wozobski