U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to Visit Santa Clara University
SANTA CLARA, Calif, Oct. 26, 2015 — Antonin Scalia, the longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, will visit Santa Clara University’s campus Oct. 28 for a series of talks with students and members of campus.
"For three decades, Justice Scalia has been a powerful voice on the U.S. Supreme Court as it grappled with difficult social, political, and economic issues," said Michael Engh, S.J., president of Santa Clara University. “Our students and campus community will have a rare opportunity to engage in dialogue with such an influential legal mind.”
Santa Clara University School of Law, founded in 1911, draws one of the nation’s most diverse student bodies to its academically rigorous programs, especially in high-tech, privacy, international and public service law. The school is located in Silicon Valley -- home to many of the world’s largest and most-innovative high-tech companies - and is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice.
“We are very honored to have a sitting Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States visiting our law school, meeting with our students, and addressing our campus,” said Lisa Kloppenberg, dean of Santa Clara University School of Law. “He will most certainly challenge our students and campus members to think hard about the Constitution and the role of law in our society.”
On Oct. 28, Justice Scalia will visit an afternoon class on constitutional law taught by former Supreme Court clerk and SCU senior fellow Marina Hsieh. He will also give an address at 5:30 p.m. in SCU’s Recital Hall for invited guests, students, faculty and staff.
Justice Scalia has served on the Supreme Court since 1986, when he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, becoming the first Italian-American justice. He was previously professor of law at the University of Virginia and University of Chicago Law School and served as Assistant Attorney General under President Gerald Ford and general counsel for the Office of Telecommunications Policy under President Richard Nixon.
On the nine-member court, Justice Scalia has been in the majority in numerous precedent-setting decisions over the years involving the death penalty, prisoner’s rights, government rights over individual landowners, and two landmark presidential-election cases Citizens United and Bush v. Gore.
Scalia is also well-known for his sometimes-entertaining verbal parrying with lawyers who argue before the court; for his pointed and often-blistering written dissents; and for being a staunch believer in deciding cases based on the original intent of the U.S. Constitution, rather than on subsequent interpretations or inferences made by the Court or lawmakers.
Scalia graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in history from Georgetown University, and received his LL.B degree from Harvard Law School, where he was notes editor for the Harvard Law Review. His son, John, graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.A. in history in 1987. Justice Scalia gave the commencement address and received an honorary degree that year.
The talk at 5:30 p.m. will be open to print media only. Journalists who wish to attend are required to make their request in advance, before Oct. 27, to Deborah Lohse of SCU Media Relations, dlohse@scu.edu or 408-554-5121. Still photos are limited to the first one to two minutes of the lecture and again for one to two minutes at the end of the event. Recording devices are permitted for note-taking purposes and not for broadcast.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
About Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law, one of the nation’s most diverse law schools, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. Santa Clara Law offers students an academically rigorous program including certificates in high tech law, international law, public interest and social justice law, and privacy law, as well as numerous graduate and joint degree options. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara Law is nationally distinguished for its faculty engagement, preparation for practice, and top-ranked programs in intellectual property. For more information, see law.scu.edu.
Santa Clara University School of Law, one of the nation’s most diverse law schools, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. Santa Clara Law offers students an academically rigorous program including certificates in high tech law, international law, public interest and social justice law, and privacy law, as well as numerous graduate and joint degree options. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara Law is nationally distinguished for its faculty engagement, preparation for practice, and top-ranked programs in intellectual property. For more information, see law.scu.edu.
Media Contacts
Deepa Arora | Communications Director | darora@scu.edu | 408-554-5125
Deborah Lohse | Assistant Media Relations Director | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
Deepa Arora | Communications Director | darora@scu.edu | 408-554-5125
Deborah Lohse | Assistant Media Relations Director | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
Oct 26, 2015