UT Law professors appointed to US Commission on Civil Rights state committee

Two professors at the University of Tennessee College of Law have been appointed to the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR).

Val Vojdik, the Waller Lansden Distinguished Professor of Law, and Brian Krumm, associate professor of law and director of the college’s Business Law and Trademark Clinic, were selected as Knoxville’s sole representatives on the sixteen-person committee and will each serve a four-year term.

As part of the committee, Vojdik and Krumm will conduct reviews and produce reports and recommendations concerning state and local civil rights issues, including justice, voting, discrimination, housing, and education. The USCCR is an independent, bipartisan agency charged with advising the president and Congress on civil rights matters and issuing a federal civil rights enforcement report.

Vojdik’s teaching and scholarship focuses on gender and the law, civil and human rights, and social institutions. Her recent scholarship addresses masculinities theory, international women’s rights, and sexual violence against men and women in war. She has worked twice as a consultant to the European Union’s Seyada Project to empower the Palestinian judicial system and has taught for the Open Society Foundation in its Network Scholarship Program since 2007.

Krumm’s teaching and scholarship focuses on commercial law, contract law, and corporate governance. He previously held senior management positions in the Offices of the General Manager and Finance with the Tennessee Valley Authority and served in Tennessee state government as assistant commissioner of employment security, deputy commissioner of labor, and policy advisor to the governor.

For information about the USCCR and its state advisory committees, visit usccr.gov.