Drake University law professor and director of international programs Ellen Yee, J.D., received the highly selective Fulbright Specialist Program award. The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board granted the award to Professor Yee for her upcoming work in Kosovo.
Professor Yee will travel to the University Isa Bolentini Mitrovica in Kosovo to complete a project focused on curriculum development and faculty training. The project aims to exchange knowledge and establish partnerships benefiting participants, institutions, and communities both in the United States and overseas through a variety of educational and training activities within law.
“The Faculty of Law at UIBM is undergoing an institutional transformation aligned with Kosovo’s broader socio-economic development and integration into European and international systems,” said Professor Yee. “My project addresses the pressing need to modernize and internationalize the legal curriculum and strengthen faculty capacity to deliver high-quality, globally relevant legal education. I am thrilled to work with my colleagues here in Kosovo and I am sure I will learn an equal amount from them.”
One of more than 400 U.S. citizens selected for the program, Professor Yee earned the award based on her academic and professional achievements, leadership in the field of law, and her demonstrated potential to foster long-term cooperation between Drake Law School and institutions in Kosovo and abroad.
“We are immensely proud of Law Professor Ellen Yee for receiving this prestigious award and representing Drake University on the global stage,” said Drake University Provost Sue Mattison. “Professor Yee has served the Drake Law School for more than 20 years, and her work perfectly embodies our mission to foster global citizenship and legal excellence. Furthermore, this project builds on Drake University’s well-established, multi-year relationship with Kosovo, which stems directly from the Iowa-Kosovo partnership.”
About Professor Ellen Yee
Drake University Law Professor Yee teaches in the areas of domestic, comparative, and international criminal law; professional responsibility; psychiatry and the law; and trial advocacy. She has taught in Drake University’s international programs in France, Spain, Egypt, South Africa, and China, and she leads the Law School’s partnerships and global initiatives. She was the recipient of Drake University’s Principal Financial Group Global Citizen Award and the Madelyn M. Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award, recognizing her leadership in advancing global learning and community engagement.
She earned her bachelor’s degree cum laude from Yale University and her law degree from the University of Minnesota. She joined Drake Law School as a professor in 2005. Before coming to Drake, she was a visiting assistant professor at Florida State University College of Law. She also served as a deputy district attorney for Marin County, California, and was a judicial extern for The Honorable Franklin L. Noel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.