The Harvard International Law Journal launched a tribute website in honor of Professor William P. Alford ’77 after he stepped down from his role as vice dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies at Harvard Law School on June 30. During Professor Alford’s 18 year tenure, the law school transformed its international programs, adding impressively to its faculty, expanding its curriculum, and launching its first international exchange programs.

Editors invited scholars, alumni, and friends from around the world to commemorate  Alford’s legacy and impact. Tributes cover his work in international law, comparative law, East Asian law studies, disability issues, as well as his teaching and leadership, and connections to students and colleagues. A selection of tributes will be published in the winter 2021 issue. Read the submissions on the tribute website.

Update: With Graduate Program and International Legal Studies Vice Dean Mark Wu taking a leave of absence to enter the Biden administration, Professor Alford and Professor Gabriella Blum LL.M. ’01, S.J.D. ’03, will serve as interim co-vice deans. Blum, the Rita E. Hauser Professor Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, is the first graduate of the Law School’s graduate program to serve as vice dean.

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