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Mark S. Kende
Director of the Drake Constitutional Law Center
James Madison Chair in Constitutional Law
Professor of Law
Expertise:
Constitutional Law, Comparative Constitutionalism, Civil Rights, Cyberlaw, Civil Procedure
Education
JD, University of Chicago, Law Review
BA, Yale University, cum laude, Philosophy Honors
Experience
- Drake Law School professor since 2004
- Dean's Visiting Scholar, Georgetown Law School
- Visiting Professor, Notre Dame Law School
- Visiting Professor of Law, University of Paris II – Pantheon
- Professor of Law, University of Montana Law School
- Attorney, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C., Chicago
- Clerk, Hon. Julian Cook Jr., United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Selected Publications
- The U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs Abortion Decision: A Bitter Pill to Swallow, 71 Drake Law Review (2024).
- Comparative Constitutional Law: South African Cases and Materials in a Global Context (Carolina Academic Press, 2015).
- Constitutional Rights in Two Worlds, South Africa and the United States (Cambridge University Press, 2009).
- Other Publications: Articles have been published in journals at Harvard Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, South African Law Journal, Nomos, in Germany, Notre Dame Law Journal, Hastings Law Journal, a University of Montana Law Review Symposium issue, Drake Law Review Symposium issues, and a University of Denver Law Review Symposium issue.
Significant Accomplishments
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Past-chair of the AALS Section on Africa, the Section on Comparative Law, and the Section on Constitutional Law
- Recipient, Drake Law Faculty International Development Fund
- Fulbright Senior Scholar, South Africa
- Chair, ACLU of Iowa Board of Directors Legal Committee
- Co-Founder, SSRN E-Journal on Africa
- Teacher of the Year, Scholar of the Year, Montana Law School
Biography
Professor Mark Kende is the James Madison Chair in Constitutional Law and Director of the Constitutional Law Center at Drake University Law School, where he has taught since 2004. A nationally recognized scholar, he specializes in constitutional law, comparative constitutionalism, civil rights, cyberlaw, and civil procedure. His work is grounded in a deep commitment to advancing justice and protecting the rights of vulnerable populations.
Professor Kende is the author of Constitutional Rights in Two Worlds: South Africa and the United States (Cambridge University Press) and Comparative Constitutional Law: South African Cases and Materials in a Global Context (Carolina Academic Press). His scholarship has appeared in leading law reviews, including those at Harvard, Chicago, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Several of his articles have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, German, and French, reflecting his international influence.
He has held teaching and research appointments around the world, including as a Senior Fulbright Scholar in South Africa, a Dean’s Visiting Scholar at Georgetown Law, and a visiting professor at the University of Paris II – Panthéon-Assas and Notre Dame Law School. He previously taught at the University of Montana School of Law.
Professor Kende has chaired three sections of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS)—on Africa, Comparative Law, and Constitutional Law—and co-founded the Law & Society Collaborative Research Network on Africa.
Before entering academia, Professor Kende clerked for Judge Julian Cook Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and practiced civil rights law at Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C. in Chicago. He earned his BA in Philosophy, cum laude with honors, from Yale University and his JD from the University of Chicago, where he was a member of the University of Chicago Law Review. He was recently elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
