We are excited to announce the addition of Hope Metcalf to the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights this spring. Prof. Metcalf joins the Iowa Law faculty as a Clinical Associate Professor after more than 15 years at the Yale Law School. From 2014-2024 she served as executive director for the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights Law; she also co-taught in the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic. 

Drawing on broad experience and expertise in human rights law, Prof. Metcalf’s research, practice, and teaching focus on protection of human rights defenders and strengthening democratic spaces, both in the United States and internationally. She will teach International Human Rights and Professional Responsibility in the College of Law and supervise student clinical work. 

In addition to her law school teaching, Prof. Metcalf will contribute to the Center’s broader teaching, scholarship, and public service. The Center, based in the College of Law, offers UI’s undergraduate Certificate in Human Rights, fosters interdisciplinary research, connects scholars from across the region, and delivers programming for the UI community and general public. 

The Center for Human Rights was an outgrowth of the “Global Focus: Human Rights ’98” initiative which brough four multiple Nobel Laureates to the UI campus. This year, the Center celebrates its 25^th anniversary.