Diane Ring, the Marianne D. Short and Ray Skowyra Professor at Boston College Law School, has received a prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award from the Fulbright Program to conduct research at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) during the 2026-2027 academic year.
“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to participate in the full range of research, teaching, and related academic projects at the WU,” Ring said. “The WU Global Tax Policy Center is a vibrant think tank that works year round to bring tax policy makers, administrators, researchers, and practitioners together for ongoing discussions and debates with the goal of furthering tax policy design. The Center’s focus on ensuring that these conversations engage with all countries, including developed and developing economies, supports the specific research that I aim to undertake during my Fulbright time at WU.”
Ring has participated in various WU conferences and events in the past, including at a major international tax conference in fall 2023 and a two-day conference focused on tax policy in Africa. Her Fulbright research project, “Transparency and Disclosure in Global Tax Reform Developments,” will examine the impact of contemporary international tax transparency and disclosure practices on four dominant developments in international tax, including the new tax role sought by the UN, the uncertain future of the OECD/BEPS 2.0 Agreement, the increased attention to developing countries, and the impact of technology on all parties. Investigation of the dynamic between transparency/disclosure practices and these new tax developments will be critical in anticipating likely challenges, she says, offering a realistic picture of reform, and identifying paths forward in the quest to improve global tax policy.
Ring will engage with actors across multiple sectors (business, OECD, lower-income states, NGOs, civil society, researchers) to build a nuanced picture of tax transparency and disclosure in practice.
“This is a wonderful and incredibly well-deserved honor for one of our most respected and cherished colleagues,” said BC Law Dean Odette Lienau. “Professor Ring is among the world’s most preeminent tax experts, and I am pleased that the Fulbright Program is allowing her this opportunity to expand upon her significant scholarship, and to engage with other global leaders in the field.”
Ring, who served as BC Law Associate Dean of Faculty from 2018-2021 and as Interim Dean from 2021-2023, researches and writes primarily in the field of international taxation, corporate taxation, and ethical issues in tax practice.
Her work addresses issues including information exchange, tax leaks, corruption and taxation, international tax relations, sharing economy and human equity transactions, and ethics in international tax. Ring was a consultant for the United Nation’s 2014 project on tax base protection for developing countries, and the UN’s 2013 project on treaty administration for developing countries. She was the US National Reporter for the 2012 IFA Conference on the Debt Equity Conundrum, and the US National Reporter for the 2004 IFA Conference on Double Nontaxation. She was the Assistant General Reporter for the 1995 IFA Conference on Financial Instruments and was a consultant to the IFA research project on the impact of technological and financial innovation on the taxation of income and activities. She served as Chair for the Tax Section Committee of Teaching Taxation of the American Bar Association.
Ring is also co-author of three case books in taxation—one on corporate taxation, one on international taxation, and one on ethical problems in federal tax practice. Prior to joining Boston College Law School, she was an associate professor of law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, and an assistant professor at Harvard Law School. Before entering academia, Ring practiced at the firm of Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, DC, specializing in the area of international tax and the taxation of financial instruments. She also clerked for Judge Jon O. Newman of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Fulbright Program is the US government’s flagship international academic exchange initiative. It advances knowledge and innovation, fosters solutions to complex global challenges, and promotes peaceful relations between the United States and other nations. Fulbright Scholars are a distinguished network of alumni who have served as heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs, and university presidents, as well as leading journalists, artists, scientists, and teachers. Fulbright alumni have earned 63 Nobel Prizes, 98 Pulitzer Prizes, 83 MacArthur Fellowships, among many other honors. Since its inception in 1946, nearly 450,000 individuals have participated in the Program, contributing to its legacy of excellence and impact.