Fulbright U.S. Scholar in Law and Sustainability at NOVA School of Law, Robin Fretwell Wilson taught and conducted research on the topic of Human Rights Law.
Robin shares her enriching and inspiring experience in Lisbon with us:
«My year as a Fulbright Scholar in Portugal has been a deeply enriching experience, both personally and professionally. Living first in Lisbon and then in a cottage in the Sintra district, I was welcomed into the lives of Portuguese families and artists. I expect to return again and again to these communities and relationships. My Sintra host, Viriato, and his family made me feel at home, and I look forward to returning as their guest in the years ahead. In Lisbon, I was touched by the generosity of local artists like Alice, who gifted me a painting, and Rogério, a sculptor who shared his creative process with my son and me. Even simple moments, like sharing coffee with a Portuguese man named Jorge and his puppy Bobby, and meeting Jorge’s family, helped me connect with the real Portugal—its warmth, its challenges, and its deep sense of community.
The Fulbright program also fostered connections to other Fulbrighters. I hosted fellow Fulbrighters at my Lisbon apartment, where we shared ideas, wine, and hopes to collaborate on projects that have materialized. One memorable partnership: Ellena Privitera, an Ohio medical student who spent the year in Lisbon studying how to improve public health access, took up a cause I’ve championed for years, advocating for patient consent in medical teaching exams. Ellena and I worked on testimony for Ohio’s Senate Bill 109 and Ellena went well beyond – rallying support, writing an op-ed, and working with reporters. Her efforts contributed to the bill’s eventual passage.
Our collaboration continued this spring when Ellena joined my Biomedical Ethics class virtually as a guest speaker, enriching the learning experience for my students not only on the moral angst experienced by medical students in the absence of clear consent, but also on the current state of abortion access in Ohio. She facilitated a law fellow joining in on the discussion as well.
Professionally, my time at NOVA School of Law has been transformative. I co-taught courses on Comparative Biomedical Ethics and Human Rights Complementarity, bringing together students from Portugal and the U.S. for cross-cultural learning. Collaborating with my NOVA host, Professor Nausica Palazzo, has taken us into new academic territory, a book about the looming “Demographic Winter”— that is the societal challenges posed by declining birth rates and aging populations. This project, involving colleagues from around the world, aims to generate policy proposals and foster international dialogue on supporting families and social safety nets.
During my time as a Fulbright Scholar at NOVA School of Law, I have been deeply impressed by the institution’s welcoming community and the high caliber of its faculty and students. I am presently exploring with NOVA a 3-year collaboration plan to support work on the Demographic Winter, which would be a textbook example of the multiplier effect that our time as Fulbright Scholars can have.
My Fulbright year has been a bridge—connecting people, ideas, and institutions across borders. I am grateful for the friendships, the professional growth, and the chance to serve as an ambassador for the United States. »
– Thank you, Robin!