Dean’s Blog

Bonjour again! After writing my last post I would like to share all the wonderful places I’ve visited and photographed to date.
Enjoy!

Bonjour:

The last few days in Lausanne have been interesting.  I arrived in Switzerland Wednesday morning after an all night flight from Philadelphia on USAir.  After an hour’s train ride I reached my destination. Immediately after reaching my hotel, the Mirabeau, not far from the train station, I took a nice long nap .The weather here has been great, in the high 70’s  and low 80’s with little or no humidity.  Later in the evening I met Professor James White, the ABA consultant, from Indiana School of Law, who was here to inspect our program.

I am quite pleased with our new location.  Having visited earlier this year, there were no real surprises for me.  The campus is large, and has its own natural beauty with running creeks.  The law and economics building, known to the cab drivers as Internef is spacious. This building houses a library and there is also a wonderful international and comparative law library nearby. Upon arrival with Professors Andy Fichter and James White we went to the office of Professor Andrea Bonnami, whom had been my host earlier in the spring.  He is not teaching in the program this summer, but hopes to do so in years to come.

The students have been here for 3 weeks now.  Almost equal numbers of students are from the Wilmington and Harrisburg campuses.  Two students, one of them  from Texas, had already moved on to Venice by the time I arrived.  Another student in the current class is from Albany Law School raved about the program. Some of the men have gone sailing on Lac Leman.  Some of the group has also taken side trips to Paris, and this past weekend a couple of them are in Budapest. Professor Fichter had a fondue party at his little village called Lutry.   Talking with the students brings back memories of my days as a law student and spending a summer in Paris, while studying International Public and Comparative Law.

I sat in on both Professor Jiminez and Zieglers’s classes. Professor Fichter’s class ended a week or so ago.  I wish I could enroll again.  Professor Jiminez was focused on crimes against humanity, and Professor Ziegler taught about the various  countries attempt to even the trade markets through instruments: embargoes, tariffs etc.   This coming week the class will travel back to Geneva for visits at the International Red Cross and the WTO. Earlier the class was at the World Health Organization at the UN for special lectures on the right of medicine and drug fraud.

At dinner Professor Jimenez reminded me of her background as a long-time International human rights specialist.  She is originally from the Philippines, but also spent some time in Bulgaria before coming to Switzerland.  She has been knee deep in negotiating United Nations conventions and protocols relative to human rights.  Professor Ziegler is from Zurich and has quickly climbed the academic ladder, starting out as an adjunct at another institution and now he is not only professor of law, but he is also one of 3 vice deans at Lausanne.

I also had to opportunity to meet the dean of the law school and the vice dean.  They are both pleased that we have begun this partnership with them.

I did get to do just a little sight-seeing.  I took the subway from the school to downtown and went to the old town where there is an impressive Notre Dame cathedral. Getting around the town, and the country for that matter is so easy.  Inside there was a young woman practicing the organ and other tourists getting out of the early afternoon heat.  From that site you can look out over the city.  Another little town that I visited over the weekend before taking off to Volterra is Sion.  About  one hour by train to the east of Lausanne, this charming little town  has at the top of a mountain another Notre Dame with what is said to be one of the oldest functioning organs around.  Above that site (about a ½ hour walk is another old ancient site of a bishops fort.  Couldn’t make that trek.  It was straight up the side of the mountain.

My Sunday morning started very early about 5am.  It was to have begun at 4:30 but the automatic wake-up call never happened.  “Anyway, got to the airport in plenty of time for my flight to Pisa.  However, the Pisa flight is late, which gives me the opportunity to write this blog.  I have to meet alumni and friends later today in Volterra which is about an hour from Pisa, so I hope the plane is not too delayed.

Vederla dopo (See you later).