FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 27, 2000 CONTACT: Chris Friesleben, (515) 271-2833 WILLIAM AND MARY LAW PROFESSOR TO TALK ABOUT HOW POLITICS AFFECTS ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND TENURE Neal Devins, the Ernest W. Goodrich professor of law at William and Mary Law School in Virginia, will talk about how the trappings of politics threaten academic freedom when he visits Drake Law School on Monday, April 3. The speech, titled "Will Politically Motivated Professors Destroy Academic Freedom and Tenure: Lessons from the Clinton Impeachment," will begin at 11 a.m. in room 213 of Cartwright Hall, 27th Street and Carpenter Avenue. It is free and open to the public. Devins is concerned about the increasing willingness of legal academics and historians to sign onto letters to Congress and to briefs on subjects they know very little about. He said politically motivated professors who sign such missives are trading off on their reputation as true experts and truth seekers to advance their personal political agendas. "In so doing, academics fail to live by the academic ethic and, as such, abuse academic freedom," said Devins. "Over time, the consequence of such politicized behavior is that university trustees may come to see academics as undeserving of tenure and the special speech protections that come with academic freedom." Devins has written several books, including "Shaping Constitutional Values: The Supreme Court, Elected Government and the Abortion Dispute" and "Redefining Equality." He also has written more than 50 articles on constitutional law, civil rights and administrative law, and has testified before both the U.S. House and Senate on separation of powers issues. Prior to joining the William and Mary faculty, Devins served as assistant general counsel for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and as project director for the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies. He received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School. Devins' visit to Drake is sponsored by the Constitutional Law Center. For more information about the event, call Thomas Baker, the center’s director, at (515) 271-3354.