BC Law’s E. Joan Blum was named an honorary professor of Tashkent State University of Law (TSUL), a renowned center of legal education in Uzbekistan. The appointment reflects her extensive contributions to the university over many years, teaching undergraduate and graduate law students, developing faculty training programs, and providing scholarly expertise in international education and law practice.
An associate professor of the practice and member of the BC Law faculty since 1985, Blum began partnering with TSUL in 2017, in coordination with Regional Dialogue, a nonprofit organization working to advance the rule of law in Uzbekistan. In spring 2019, she served as a visiting professor at TSUL, teaching a seminar on advocacy writing and leading faculty workshops on interactive teaching and academic legal research. During the 2022-2023 academic year, Blum returned to TSUL after receiving a Teaching/Research Fulbright Grant. Most recently, Blum published an article in the Journal of Legal Education on student engagement in remote learning during the pandemic in the United States and Uzbekistan. She also convened a panel at the Global Legal Skills Conference with a deputy rector of TSUL.
Blum will continue her work at TSUL this summer, as she has been tapped by Regional Dialogue to lead several legal education projects. On one of them, Blum has collaborated with fellow BC Law professor Evangeline Sarda and two former BC Law faculty to develop a two-day program that provides clinical pedagogy trainings to faculty at Uzbekistan’s law colleges. Blum will also conduct a two-day training program on interactive teaching methods for faculty, and a three-day training program that introduces students and faculty of Uzbekistan’s Law Enforcement Academy to moot court competition, and written and oral legal advocacy. Additionally, she has been tasked with leading a summer school program for TSUL students who plan to participate in LLM programs in the United States.
Acknowledging Blum’s continued partnership with TSUL, Regional Dialogue posted a congratulatory message saying, “This recognition is well deserved and reflects a long-standing relationship… We are proud to have played a part in this fruitful and continued cooperation!”