'On Topic with Ken Starr' To Feature Conversation with Renowned Constitutional Law Scholar Akhil Reed Amar
Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and author of America's Constitution: A Biography and America's Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By - will join Baylor President Ken Starr for a discussion on the nation's founding document at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, in Waco Hall. (Courtesy Yale University)
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Yale professor and author of America's Constitution joins Baylor president on Constitution Day for compelling conversation about the nation's founding document
WACO, Texas (Sept. 13, 2012) - Baylor University President Ken Starr will welcome renowned constitutional law scholar Akhil Reed Amar - Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and author of America's Constitution: A Biography and America's Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By - to the Baylor campus for "On Topic With President Ken Starr," a series of compelling conversations on contemporary issues, at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, in Waco Hall.
The Sept. 17 event falls on Constitution Day, which commemorates the 225th anniversary of the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. President Starr and Professor Amar will discuss a wide range of topics, including the history behind the creation of the Constitution, how other historical documents, such as Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, have influenced the interpretation of the Constitution, and the steadfastness of the nation's founding document, which has been amended only rarely over more than two centuries.
While admission is free, a ticket is required. Tickets may be picked up from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the ticket office on the first floor of the Bill Daniel Student Center. Available tickets will be distributed through the ticket office on a first-come, first-served basis through Sept. 14. Any remaining tickets will be available at the Waco Hall ticket office on Sept. 17, beginning at 3 p.m.
Akhil Reed Amar teaches constitutional law at both Yale College and Yale Law School. Amar is the co-editor of a leading constitutional law casebook, Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking, and the author of several books, including The Constitution and Criminal Procedure: First Principles, The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction, America's Constitution: A Biography, and most recently, America's Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By. The U.S. Supreme Court has invoked his work in more than 20 cases and he has testified before Congress on a wide range of constitutional issues.
Amar received his B.A, summa cum laude, in 1980 from Yale College, and his J.D. in 1984 from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of The Yale Law Journal.
After clerking for Judge Stephen Breyer, he joined the Yale faculty in 1985. In 1994, he received the Paul Bator award from the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy, and in 1997, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of law by Suffolk University. In 1995, the National Law Journal named him as one of 40 "Rising Stars in the Law," and in 1997, The American Lawyer placed him on their "Public Sector 45" list. His work on the Bill of Rights also earned the ABA Certificate of Merit and the Yale University Press Governor's Award.
He has delivered endowed lectures at more than two dozen colleges and universities, and has written widely on constitutional issues for such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, The New Republic and Slate. He is also a contributing editor to The American Lawyer.
About Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.