The Robert Bosch Foundation Alumni Association (RBFAA) held its annual meeting in Washington, D.C the weekend of June 22-24. This year’s annual meeting brought together alumni of the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program, their guests, and distinguished leaders in the German-American community. The weekend commenced on Friday evening with a reception at the residence of the German Ambassador to the United States. The reception included welcoming remarks by Ambassador Dr. Peter Ammon followed by the presentation of the “Bosch Fellow of the Year” award. Mr. Russell Miller was the 2012 recipient of this award, the RBFAA’s highest honor.

Russell Miller is Professor of Law at Washington & Lee University School of Law where his research and teaching focus on comparative law theory, comparative constitutional law, and German legal culture.  Miller is the co-founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the German Law Journal an online, English-language review of developments in German and European jurisprudence and the author of several books.  Miller was a 2009/2010 Fulbright Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and Public International Law in Heidelberg, Germany.  During that time he complete work on two major, forthcoming works The Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany (with Donald Kommers) (Duke University Press 2012) and Global Legal Traditions:  Comparative Law for the 21st Century (with Michael Bazyler et al.) (Lexis-Nexis Publishing 2012).  

On Saturday, two panel discussions were held with local experts on the topics of The Role of Arts and Culture in Foreign Policy: German and American Perspectives and Refugees and Migration: American and German Approaches. Following the panels, the alumni enjoyed a walking tour of German-American Heritage Museum.

Anne Richard (Bosch II), Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration

Alumni members listening to the panelists

Seth Oppenheim (Bosch XXI), former RBFAA treasurer reading the election results

The highlight of the weekend was the gala dinner and reception at the House of Sweden with keynote speaker Klaus Scherer, Senior Correspondent at ARD German TV, who’s keynote, was titled How to explain America? A correspondent’s challenge.  The weekend concluded with a Sunday brunch at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, in the heart of Washington's Chinatown and the revitalized Penn Quarter.

A view of the Patomic River on top of the House of Sweden. Guests enjoyed cocktails on the roof before the reception commenced.

RBFAA Co-President Maggie Monahan, Bosch I

The Gala Reception at House of Sweden

A special thanks to the Robert Bosch Stiftung for their continued support of the RBFAA and its activities, including this annual meeting.