Center Welcomes Brett G. Scharffs as Associate Director

In August 2008 the Center was pleased to announce that Brett G. Scharffs has been appointed as an Associate Director of the Center. Professor Scharffs has worked closely with the Center in the past as a Regional Advisor for Asia and will continue to perform this function in conjunction with his new role as Associate Director. Welcoming this announcement, Cole Durham, Director of the Center, noted, “Professor Scharffs has been a great colleague and a major contributor to the work of the Center for many years, and we are looking forward to the added energy and insight he will bring.” Professor Scharffs has planned and participated in conferences in Asia and the United States, including the Center’s 2008 conference in India and conferences in China, Vietnam, Mongolia, Japan, and Australia. He has provided research and information on issues of freedom of religion or belief in Asia and other areas of the world and has worked on many of the Center’s projects and publications. He is currently co-authoring a casebook with Professor Cole Durham on international freedom of religion or belief to be used in law schools in the United States and other countries. Professor Scharffs holds a BSBA and an MA from Georgetown University, a BPhil from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He clerked for Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and for Judge George H. Aldrich of the Iran – U.S. Claims Tribunal at The Hague. He is married to Deirdre Mason Crane Scharffs and is the father of three children, Elliot, Sophelia and Ella.