UMass Global Faculty Member Earns Fulbright Appointment, Will Teach Law in Czech Republic

Photo courtesy of Sandy Chou

IRVINE, Calif. (Sept. 6, 2022) - Sandy Chou, who teaches University of Massachusetts Global business students about statutes and case law, is set to travel via the Fulbright Scholars Program to the Czech Republic in mid-September. Chou has secured a nine-month assignment at Palacký University Olomouc to help students learn about different countries’ legal cultures.

“I am honored to be given an opportunity to promote mutual understanding of nations by explaining legal traditions of Eastern nations to Western legal students and scholars,” Chou said. “When Western and Eastern countries negotiate private or governmental contracts or trade deals, my research results can be used as a reference for the concepts and elements which should be considered to avoid enforcement issues.”

Chou began teaching for the university in 2009, after earning her Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Chicago. Her teaching at UMass Global is focused on preparing students interested in business management to understand how the law may affect their work.

“As a primary instructor of our Legal Environment of Business class for close to a decade, Dr. Chou has touched the lives of hundreds of business students in positive ways,” said Glenn Worthington, dean of the School of Business and Professional studies. “We applaud her selection as a Fulbright Fellow.”

As a faculty member, Chou has experience teaching students learning overseas, albeit in a different context than the students who she will interact with in the Czech Republic. UMass Global has a long tradition of serving students in the military, and her classes have included active-duty learners serving overseas.

“They would send emails saying, ‘We’re going on a secret mission. We can’t say where, but the assignment will be late,’” Chou said.

Chou plans to help her future students in the Czech Republic delve into such topics as contract law, intellectual property law, and antitrust enforcement. Her academic scholarship of the law is reinforced with practical knowledge, as she is eligible to practice law in California, New York, and Taiwan.

She also observed that her diverse background, which encompasses her work as a Taiwanese American scholar who has lived in Japan and is presently set to travel to the Czech Republic "will be an encouragement for students to gain the courage to study and work across international communities.”

According to the Fulbright Program: Chou “is among over 800 U.S. citizens who will conduct teach abroad for the 2022-2023 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. ...

“The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program.”

“We are tremendously honored by Dr. Chou’s accomplishment,” Chancellor David Andrews said. “Chou’s colleagues and students already know Chou is an effective instructor who relays knowledge gained through practical knowledge of the law and academic research.  At UMass Global, we believe practitioners are often ideal instructors for students who want to make sure they learn relevant skills while earning their degrees. Dr. Chou exemplifies the kind of faculty member who prepares working learners for real-life success."
 
More information about the Fulbright Program is available online.