Distinguished Professor of History from University of California, Santa Barbara, Will Present Annual Robert T. Miller Lecture

March 22, 2019
Laura Kalman

Laura Kalman, Ph.D., will present 'The Long Reach of the Sixties.'?' Photo courtesy of University of California, Santa Barbara

Media Contact: Terry Goodrich, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-3321
Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia

by Gabrielle White, student newswriter, Baylor University Media and Public Relations

WACO, Texas (March 22, 2019) – Laura Kalman, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of History at University of California, Santa Barbara, will present “The Long Reach of the Sixties” at the annual Robert T. Miller Lecture at 7 p.m. Monday, March 25, at Bennett Auditorium in the Draper Academic Building, 1400 S. Seventh St.

“Kalman is an exceptional constitutional scholar whose work is widely and deeply respected,” said David Clinton, Ph.D., chair of political science in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences. “Her main focus — United States 20th century legal history — is both interesting and relevant. Her newest book on the 1960s is one of the best volumes written on the important transition from the New Deal era to post-New Deal politics.”

Kalman’s lecture will address how the politics of the 1960s is still felt today. She will discuss this topic especially in relation to the Supreme Court, where lifetime appointments, institutional traditions and judicial precedents play a crucial role. The lecture will demonstrate the importance of history, such as how it shapes political culture and reaches into the future to shape the direction of our nation, Clinton said.

Kalman earned her J.D. from University of California, Los Angeles, and her Ph.D. from Yale University. She is a member of the California Bar Association and is the past president of the American Society for Legal History. She has written numerous publications, including her most recent, “The Long Reach of the Sixties: LBJ, Nixon and the Making of the Contemporary Supreme Court.”

The lecture, hosted by the department of political science, “deals with issues of public law and the importance of constitutional interpretation,” Clinton said. “The speaker usually draws from original research, but the talk itself is designed to appeal to a wider audience. It highlights the relevance of law and courts in an accessible manner — especially in a way that Baylor undergraduate students can appreciate.”

Robert T. Miller, Ph.D., devoted his life to Baylor University and the teaching of political science. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Baylor prior to earning his Ph.D. in government at the University of Texas at Austin. He taught at Baylor from 1946 to 1995, having offered courses in virtually every area of political science over those years. He served as the chair of political science from 1962 until 1990, when he was appointed The R.W. Morrison Distinguished Professor of Political Science. Miller passed away in 1996, but his legacy lives on each year through the lecture series at Baylor.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the department of political science website.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 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 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments and seven academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit www.baylor.edu/artsandsciences.