Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Elizabeth Trujillo, co-convener of the Global and Comparative Law Program, has been elected to serve on the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law (ASIL). She will serve from 2018 to 2021. Trujillo is Texas A&M School of Law’s first faculty member elected to the ASIL Executive Council.
ASIL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational membership organization founded in 1906 and chartered by Congress in 1950. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., ASIL holds Special Consultative Status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council and is a constituent society of the American Council of Learned Societies. ASIL’s members from more than 100 countries include attorneys, academics, judges, students and experts interested in international law.
Trujillo, an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law and a member of the American Law Institute (ALI), said she is honored to serve in this way.
“ASIL brings together judges and government officials working on foreign policy issues and international law, as well as members of government and non-governmental organizations, the practice, and the academy, to advance education and international law scholarship around international law and U.S. foreign policy,” Trujillo said.
Notably, Trujillo is not new to ASIL. She became a member of the organization when she began teaching in 2002. She served in various capacities, including as Chair of the ASIL International Economic Law Interest Group, on the Annual Meeting Organizing Committee and the Book Scholarships Committee.
"It has connected me with the top professionals and scholars working in international law,” Trujillo said.
At the same time, Trujillo realizes her new role as a member of the Executive Council is significant.
“Being given the opportunity to now serve on the Executive Council allows me to contribute towards the governing decisions of ASIL in terms of its executive leadership, annual meetings, publications, scholarship topics and budget,” Trujillo said.
“As part of the Executive Council, I look forward to participating on the governing body of the organization. As the first Texas A&M Law faculty member to serve in this capacity, I look forward to representing the law school in this way and in providing visibility to the Texas A&M Global and Comparative Law Program in this important international organization,” Trujillo said.
Texas A&M School of Law faculty members are enthusiastic to have one of their own represented in the ASIL leadership.
“We’re very excited that Elizabeth has been elected to the ASIL Executive Council,” Professor Peter Yu, Co-Director of Studies of the American Branch of the International Law Association, said. “ASIL is a highly prestigious organization in international law. With over 4000 members, it also has the largest membership in the nation,” Yu said.
Associate Dean for Global Programs and Graduate Studies Charlotte Ku, who served as ASIL’s Executive Director and Executive Vice President from 1994 to 2006, points out the prestige and importance of being selected to serve on the ASIL Executive Council.
“Membership on the ASIL Executive Council is not only recognition of a person’s stature in the profession. It is an opportunity to help chart the direction for one of the world’s pre-eminent educational institutions dedicated to advancing the use and understanding of international law,” said Ku.
“Elizabeth will bring valuable perspectives to this work. Her involvement in the leadership of ASIL will also contribute an important piece to building Texas A&M University School of Law’s global law programs. We are very proud of her achievement,” Ku said.
Trujillo encourages Aggie Law students to get involved with the ASIL organization.
“Not only do the meetings and research offer the latest, cutting-edge discussions on topics in international law and foreign policy, they allow students to interact with experts in the field from the U.S. and from around the world,” Trujillo said. “ASIL provides career advice for students who want to pursue a career in international law as well as various educational and networking resources,” she continued.
Trujillo noted that ASIL brings together students from all over the world by working with the International Law Students Association and the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition as well as offering fellowships to recent graduates.
- Article by Tyra Kelly, Texas A&M University School of Law