Constitutional Law Center Events
An integral part of the Constitutional Law Center's mission are the various lectures that invite the nation's top scholars, judges, and lawyers to campus.
Constitution Day Lecture
Each year, Drake University holds an event in honor of Constitution Day. The event usually involves a speech by a distinguished expert in constitutional law. The speaker also typically meets with the faculty at the law school.
2020 Constitution Day
"The Counter-Playbook: Resisting the Populist Assault on Separation of Powers"
Stephen Gardbaum, Stephen Yeazell Endowed Chair in Law, UCLA School of Law
September 17, 2020
3-4 p.m.
This event was recorded and can be watched by clicking here.
CLE for one (1) hour has been approved (Activity Number: 354037).
Any additional information will be posted here as it becomes available.
Distinguished Lecture Series
The Constitutional Law Center's Distinguished Lecture Series brings to campus the nation's leading constitutional scholars to engage students and faculty on the important issues of the day. Speakers deliver a formal lecture, teach a class, and meet with students in informal settings.
Upcoming speakers for the Distinguished Lecture Series include:
Erika George, Samuel D. Thurman Professor of Law, Quinney College of Law, The University of Utah
March 25, 2021
3-4 p.m.
Michael Rappaport, Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation Professor of Law; Director, Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism, University of San Diego School of Law
Date TBD
More information will be forthcoming for each event as it becomes available.
Judge James Grant Iowa Constitution Lecture Series
In 2012, the center initiated the Judge James Grant Iowa Constitution Lecture Series to feature prominent experts on the topic of the Iowa Constitution every other year. The event is made possible by the generous gifts of Patrick Grant, LW'76, and family.
2020 Judge James Grant Iowa Constitution Lecture
"Is Iowa a Liberal Democracy?"
James A. Gardner, Bridget and Thomas Black SUNY Distinguished Professor of Law, Research Professor of Political Science, University at Buffalo School of Law, The State University of New York
October 29, 2020
3-4 p.m.
Register here to attend this virtual event.
2020 Judge James Grant Iowa Constitution Lecture program
CLE for one (1) hour has been approved (Activity Number: 354840).
More information will be posted here as it becomes available.
Constitutional Law Symposium
The annual Constitutional Law Symposium invites scholars, judges, and lawyers from across the country to discuss a timely constitutional issue. The proceedings are published in the Drake Law Review.
2021 Constitutional Law Symposium
"Reexamining Pragmatism in Constitutional Interpretation"
April 17, 2021
Cartwright Hall, Room 213
Speakers include:
- Brian Butler, Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina (Asheville)
- Daniel Farber, Sho Sato Professor of Law; Faculty Director, Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment, University of California, Berkeley
- Mark Kende, Director of the Constitutional Law Center; James Madison Chair in Constitutional Law; Professor of Law, Drake University Law School
- Linda C. McClain, Robert Kent Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law
- Robert Tsai, Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law
More information will be forthcoming for this event as it becomes available.
Dwight D. Opperman Lecture series
In 1988, Dwight D. Opperman, LW'51, former chairman of West Publishing Company, endowed the lecture series to bring the country's top jurists and legal scholars to Drake. Since then, 11 U.S. Supreme Court justices have delivered the Opperman Lecture.
View a list of the Drake Constitutional Law Center's past events.
