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The Leavitt Institute's objectives of building character traits and skills necessary to effective democractic governance are advanced through the BUILD Initiative (Building Ukrainian Independence and Lasting Democracy). BUILD includes the following activities.
Two Semester University Course. This course, named Foundations of a Free Society, is a two semester course taught in six national Ukrainian universities, each of which is a TLI partner in the BUILD Initiative. The course examines and illustrates the foundations of a free society using the American Jury Trial as illustrative and educational material. A free society is based on a committed citizenry, who are governed by ethical principles, who exercise democratic rights in a governmental system based on the rule of law. In a free society, the responsibilities of commitment, public dedication, ethical standards and obedience to law apply to all leaders and officials as well as to general citizenry. This course, designed for use in Ukrainian law schools, uses the American Jury Trial as the teaching tool. The core values of a free society come alive in the American criminal justice system, which culminates and is centered on the American Jury Trial. In the American Jury Trial, the ultimate power of the state is vested in the ultimate sovereign, the people. Publication of English Textbook. The Leavitt Institute has developed a text during its previous years of teaching in Ukraine. The book, Foundations of a Free Society is a 400 page text book written and/or compiled by the Honorable David Nuffer, United States Federal Magistrate for the District of Utah. The book serves as the text for the BUILD course, Foundations of a free society. Publication of Foundations of a Free Society Text in Ukrainian. The sustainability of BUILD is largely dependent on the BUILD course Foundations of a Free Society being offered and taught in Ukrainian universities in Ukrainian, instead of English as it currently is taught. An essential component to such sustainability is the translation and publication of the text into Ukrainian. With USAID funding, TLI will translate the text, Foundations of a Free Society. With money contributed by the American Studies Center, TLI will publish the text into Ukrainian, thus providing a critical component to future sustainability. Jury Trial Competition. At the conclusion of the second semester the BUILD Initiative holds a jury trial competition which puts into practice the character traits and skills learned during the two semesters of the BUILD course Foundations of a Free Society. Phase Two, LLM degree program at McGeorge School of Law. Phase Two of BUILD provides select students with the opportunity to earn an LLM degree in the teaching of advocacy at The University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. The purpose of Phase Two is to train Ukrainians to participate as BUILD coordinators and instructors for The BUILD Initiative. Upon completing the LLM degree requirements, the LLM students have a contractual obligation to TLI to work in BUILD for a period of two years. Faculty and Lesson Plan Development Program. The Faculty and Lesson Plan Development Program is a four part plan aimed strictly at sustainability of the BUILD Initiative. Its purpose is to provide guidance and training for future instructors of the BUILD course Foundations of a Free Society. The Faculty and Lesson Plan Development Program operates as set forth below. |
