W. Warren H. Binford, associate professor of law and director of the Clinical Law Program, has been selected as the inaugural chairholder of the Fulbright Distinguished Visiting Research Chair in Brain Science and Family Wellness in Canada.
Binford, who will work at the University of Calgary for four months, is Willamette's first faculty member chosen as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair.
The award is viewed as among the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program. In 2012, Binford also served as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of the Western Cape in Belville, South Africa.
In Canada, Binford hopes to support the advancement of brain science research focused on child pornography, with a heightened emphasis on prevention and victim recovery.
"What most excites me about this opportunity is that it builds directly on the wonderful work of our law students in Willamette’s Child and Family Advocacy Clinic," Binford says, referring to a U.S. Supreme Court case involving restitution for victims of child pornography.
"That research and advocacy is the foundation for the work that I will be doing in Canada."
So often, students get to stand on the shoulders of their professors, Binford says. But in this case, the roles have reversed.
"I truly feel that I am standing on the shoulders of our students and the research and advocacy they have done to try to help society address one of the fastest growing problems on the Internet," she says.
"I am grateful to be part of a university that attracts high caliber students who are active agents in society, and develop close, collaborative relationships with their professors that allow us to learn from our students and to be inspired by and able to build on their work."
The Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program comprises about 40 distinguished lecturing, research and lecture/research awards ranging from three to 12 months.
By definition, candidates for a Distinguished Chair are eminent scholars with significant publication and teaching records. The Chair is also supported in part by the Norlien Foundation.
