Salar Ghahramani is an Assistant Professor of Business Law and International Law & Policy and Founding Co-Chair of the International Task Force on Sovereign Wealth Fund Research at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business. He has taught international law at the Maastricht Center for Transatlantic Studies in the Netherlands and has led academic programs to the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the European Commission in Brussels, and the International Court of Justice at The Hague. He was recently a Visiting Scholar at the European University Institute, where he researched the continental approach to socially responsible investing and attended a program on the Law of the European Union.

Previously, Salar served at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he researched foreign policy and international relations, and conducted research for the Corporate Executive Board, where he advised multinational clients on business strategy.

Salar holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree and a Certificate in International, Comparative, and Foreign Law from the Pennsylvania State University, where he also received his B.A. in International Politics as a Schreyer Scholar. At Penn State, he was elected Phi Beta Kappa and was a recipient of the Honors Medal and the President's Award.

Additionally, Salar studied transnational and comparative law at Duke University's Geneva Institute in Transnational Law in Geneva, Switzerland; the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) in Rome, Italy; and the Faculty of Law at the University of Florence. He was also a recipient of a merit scholarship to research British theatre and architecture in London.

Salar's articles have appeared in a number of publications, including Ireland's Sunday Business Post, The Prospectus of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Corporate Governance, and the Yale Journal of International Affairs, and he has conducted seminars and interviews on constitutional law, commercial law, and international business law.

An avid traveler, Salar has lived in five countries, visited across continents, and has driven to 49 states.

American Government & Politics
Business Law & Ethics
Comparative Politics
Congressional Internship
Constitutional Law
Globalization: The Intersection of Law, Politics, and the Financial Markets
International Business Law & Ethics
International Human Rights Law
International Relations
Introduction to Business
Introduction to Law
Public Policy Writing

CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION SEMINARS

Current Topics in International Trade Law & Policy
Global Trends: Foreign Policy, International Relations, & International Law in the 21st Century
Challenges & Opportunities: National & Global Issues Facing the Presidency

Co-Chair
International Task Force on Sovereign Wealth Fund Research
Smeal College of Business

BOOK CHAPTER: 

"Sovereign Wealth Funds and Human Rights Protection." In F. Bassan (Ed.), Sovereign Wealth Funds and International Investment Law. Camberley, UK: Elgar's International Financial Law Series (Forthcoming).

REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES:

"Sovereign Wealth Funds, Transnational Law, and The New Paradigms of International Financial Relations." Yale Journal of International Affairs (Forthcoming).

"Fiduciary Duty and the Ex Officio Conundrum in Corporate Governance: The Troublesome Murkiness of the Gubernatorial Trustee's Obligations." Hastings Business Law Journal (Forthcoming).

"Divestment Laws, Fiduciary Duty, and Pension Fund Management: An Empirical Examination." International Journal of Law and Management (Forthcoming).

"Sovereign Wealth Funds and Shareholder Activism: Applying the Ryan-Schneider Antecedents to Determine Policy Implications." Corporate Governance, Vol. 13(1), pp. 58-69 (2013).

"Public Pensions, International Affairs, and Divestment Regulations: A Critical Analysis and Call for a Model Law." Pensions, Vol. 17(2), pp. 80-87 (2012).

"The Uncertain Liability of Accountants and Other Professionals in Securities Fraud Cases: The Shifting Sands of Central Bank" (with Carl Pacini and Jeffrey S. Paterson). Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting, Vol. 3(3), pp. 46-67 (2011).

"Protecting Public Pension Funds from Divestment-related Lawsuits: Exploring the State Laws of the United States." Pensions: An International Journal, Vol. 16(3), pp. 212-219 (2011).

"Governments, Financial Markets, and International Human Rights: The State's Role as Shareholder." Yale Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 6(1), pp. 85-95 (2011).

 
 
REFEREED CONFERENCE PAPERS  & OTHER ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS:

“Fiduciary Duty and the Corporate Governance of the State’s Instrumentalities: A Dilemmatic Assessment.” The Pacific Northwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business Conference. 2013.

“Public Law, Private Governance, and the Gubernatorial Conundrum.” The Mid-Atlantic Academy of Legal Studies in Business Annual Conference. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2013.

“The International Task Force on Sovereign Wealth Fund Research: An Introduction.” Smeal College of Business CGBS Advisory Board. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Washington, DC. 2013.

“International Law & Sovereign Wealth Funds.” Junior International Law Scholars Association. Department of Legal Studies at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, 2012.

"The International Law of Sovereign Wealth Funds: Santiago Revisited." Academy of Legal Studies in Business Annual Conference. Kansas City, Missouri. 2012.

 
"The Deficiencies of Soft International Law and the Impossibility of Supranational Regulation of Sovereign Wealth Funds." Pacific Northwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business Annual Conference. Portland, Oregon. 2012.

"A Cost-benefit Analysis of Divestment Laws and How They Force Pension Trustees to Violate Their Fiduciary Duties." The Mid-Atlantic Academy of Legal Studies in Business Annual Conference. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, March 2012.

"The Uncertain Liability of Accountants and Other Professionals in Securities Fraud Cases: The Shifting Sands of Central Bank" (with Carl Pacini and Jeffrey S. Paterson). The Clute Institute International Academic Conference. Maui, Hawaii, January 2011.

"Corporational Challenges in Corporate Social Responsibility." Presented to the University of Gloucestershire group, April 2011.
 
"Governments as Market Participants: Saving the Private Markets for the Good of the Public or Playing Politics Through the Private Markets?" The 7th Annual Conference of the Italian Association for the History of Political Economy. Univ. of Trento, Italy, June 2010.

"Sovereign Wealth Funds: Benefits to the Markets and Challenges for Policy-makers." Presented at The Institute at Palazzo Rucellai. Florence, Italy, June 2010.

"The Global Financial Crisis and the Obama Administration's Policy Responses." The Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington D.C., April 2009.

"Economic Policy-making in the Midst of Crisis: Views from both Sides of the Atlantic." Presented to the University of Gloucestershire group, April 2009.

"Comparative Constitutionalism: the United States and Germany in the 21st Century." Presented to the University of Applied Sciences Hof, Germany (Fachhochschule Hof) group, March 2008.

"International Law and Conflict Resolution." Hiroshima Peace Conference. The Pennsylvania State University, September 2005.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS:
"Key to America's Success: Engagement, not Isolation." The Prospectus of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Vol. 2. no. 1 (2000).

"'Public' Policy in the President's Energy Plan." The Centre Daily Times. 23 Jan. 2002.

"Tangled Politics: An Analysis of Presidential Elections." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 17 June 2005.

"China, Iran, and the Nonaligned Movement within the International Atomic Energy Agency." Sunday Business Post (Ireland), World Section. 14 Aug. 2005.

"UN Toothless? Realpolitik and Noncompliance Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty." Sunday Business Post (Ireland), World Section. 15 Jan. 2006.

"The Profile of a President." Sunday Business Post (Ireland), Feature Section. 22 Jan. 2006.

"Tensions Rise in Nuclear Stand-off After U.S. Invasion Plans Revealed." Sunday Business Post (Ireland), World Section. 16 Apr. 2006.

 "Sovereign Wealth Funds to BP's Rescue?." Legal Scholarship Network. 7 July 2010.

"Who is a 'Natural Born' Citizen? We'll Know When Canadian Runs for President." U.S. Constitutional Law: Interpretation & Judicial Review. 15 Jan. 2012.

"A Kenyan Birth? Still Natural Born." Jurisprudence & Legal Philosophy. April 2012.

RESEARCH IMPACT:
Legislative Adoption of Research. Article titled "Governments, Financial Markets, and International Human Rights: The State's Role as Shareholder" cited as a primary source in Inquiry into the exposure draft of the Financial Management (Ethical Investment) Legislation Amendment Bill. Australian Capital Territory Legislature, Standing Committee on Public Accounts. Canberra, AU.
 
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Constitutional Law & the Legal Environment of Business
Corporate Governance Law
Fiduciary Law
International & Comparative Business Law
The Law of Public Pension & Sovereign Wealth Funds

Lion Heart Award, "For Commitment to Excellence." Presented by the graduating class to "the faculty, staff, or administration member who most inspired members of the graduating class through our college career."
Rubin Endowment Award, to research the laws of the European Union member states regarding public pension fund involvement in international human rights and socially responsible investing.
First-Year Engagement Faculty Certificate of Appreciation, "for meritorious contributions to peer teaching and learning."
The College Nominee and University Finalist for the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, Penn State's University-wide teaching award.
Honors Medal, for "Scholarly Achievement, Integrity of Purpose, and Intellectual Curiosity."
Liberal Arts Academic Excellence Award, "For Academic Excellence."
Schreyer Ambassador Grant, to study British theater and architecture in London.
President's Award
Phi Beta Kappa

Team Leader, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Team Leader, Habitat for Humanity, Anniston, Alabama; Alachua County, Florida.

Intake Volunteer, American Civil Liberties Union.

Classical Pianist, Persian Cultural Association of Philadelphia.

Editor-in-Chief, Dialectics: Journal of Leadership, Politics, and Society.
Senator, Faculty Senate.
Chair, Committee on the Review and Revision of the Faculty Senate Constitution.
Orientation Leader, Division of Social Sciences New Faculty Orientation.
Faculty Advisor, Business Ethics Case Competition Team.
Translator, informed consent forms for Social Science Institutional Review Board.
Author, New Faculty Guidebook.
Co-author, The Internationalization Survey for the Division of Social Sciences.
Co-author, The Strategic Plan for Internationalizing the Abington College of the Pennsylvania State University.
Panelist, The Annual Law Forum.
Member, Committee on Internationalizing the Faculty, Staff, Campus and Curriculum.
Member, Social Sciences Division Committee on Internationalization.
Member, International Affairs Committee.
Member, Faculty Affairs Committee.
Member, Faculty Senate Council.
Member, Hiroshima Peace Seminar Committee.