About the CLDJ Faculty and Coordinator

Babafemi Akinrinade, Assistant Professor

Babafemi Akinrinade joins Fairhaven as Assistant Professor of Human Rights from the University of Chicago's Human Rights Program and Center for International Studies where he was a post-doctoral instructor for two years. Originally from Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Professor Akinrinade holds a LLM and JSD in International Human Rights Law from the University of Notre Dame and degrees from Obafemi Awolowo University, the Nigerian Law School, and the University of Ife. His teaching specialities include Accountability for Human Rights Violations, Human Rights in Africa; and State Collapse and Reconstruction. He has published articles on transitional justice processes and human rights NGOs in Nigeria and on the conflict in Sierra Leone.

Julie A. Helling, Associate Professor

Julie Helling has taught Law, Diversity, and Justice at Fairhaven College since 2000. She was previously the director of the Law and Diversity Program and now runs the Whatcom Civil Rights Project (WCRP) and a new Domestic Violence Court Watch Program.  Her work establishing the WCRP was recognized by the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force with its Human Rights Award in 2003. Julie trains students to conduct intake interviews for WCRP and the students prepare a concise summary of relevant facts that identifies possible legal claims for LAW Advocates attorneys on the Attorney Case Assessment Panel.

Julie is also an avid fiction writer in multiple genres including fantasy and science fiction.

 

Raquel Montoya-Lewis, Associate Professor

Raquel Montoya-Lewis from the Pueblo of Isleta and the Pueblo of Laguna Indian tribes, researches and writes in the area of tribal law and jurisprudence.  She teaches courses on the U.S. legal system, including Property Law and Federal Indian Law, as well as courses on cultural and gender identity.  In addition to teaching, she is licensed to practice law in Washington and New Mexico.  Currently, she serves as Chief Judge for the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, Acting Chief Judge for the Lummi Nation, and appellate judge for the Northwest Intertribal Court System and the Nisqually Indian Tribe.   Raquel Montoya-Lewis holds a  B.A. from the University of New Mexico (1992), a J.D. from University of Washington School of Law (1995), and an M.S.W from the University of Washington Graduate School of Social Work (1996).

 

Daniel Larner, Professor

Dan Larner is a playwright and theatre scholar who teaches writing, film and theatre.  He is an activist in civil liberties, and a 40-year member of the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. For the LDJ concentration, he teaches FAIR 393b, Rights, Liberties and Justice in America, a part of the core within the concentration.  He is the recipient of the Liberty Bell Award from the Whatcom County Bar Association for lifetime achievement in civil rights education and advocacy, and is the advisor to the student civil liberties club on campus.  
 

 

 

 

Niall Ó Murchú, Coordinator and Associate Professor

Niall came to Fairhaven College in 2001 after his doctorate in Political Science at the University of Washington. His dissertation research and book project compare labor markets and ethnic conflict in Mandate Palestine and Northern Ireland. He teaches mostly in the areas of international studies and political economy broadly defined. He has taught Political Economy and the Law and Immigration Law & Policy (with a guest attorney) to Law, Diversity and Justice students. He is also a member of Western's International Studies Advisory Group and on the board of the American Democracy Project.

As a naturalized American he is passionate about immigration reform; he is an avid soccer player and speaks passable Spanish.