Chemerinsky to speak as part of W&M Committee on Religion in a Public University Speaker Series
Erwin Chemerinsky, the Alston & Bird Professor of Law and Political Science at the Duke University, will deliver a lecture April 5, 2007, on “Why Church and State Should be Separate.” The talk, which is the first in a series of speakers hosted by the William and Mary Committee on Religion in Public University, will be held at 6 p.m. in Millington Hall room 105. A question-and-answer session with Chemerinsky will follow the talk. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Chemerinsky joined the Duke faculty in 2004, after 21 years at the University of Southern California Law School, where he was the Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, Legal Ethics, and Political Science. In 2005, Legal Affairs named Chemerinsky one of “the top 20 legal thinkers in America.”
The author of four books and more than 100 law review articles, Chemerinsky is one of the most prolific constitutional law scholars in the United States. His treatise on constitutional law is widely consulted by both lawyers and legal scholars. In addition to his work as a legal scholar and teacher, Chemerinsky frequently argues cases before the United States Supreme Court, including a 2005 case involving the constitutionality of a display of the Ten Commandments on the statehouse lawn in Austin, Texas. He regularly serves as a commentator on legal issues in the national media.
The religion committee, which is made up of alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of the College, was appointed earlier this semester by William and Mary President Gene R. Nichol to explore the role of religion at a public university, including the use of the College’s historic Wren Chapel. The committee will be inviting other speakers to campus throughout the remainder of the semester and in the fall.
