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28 August 2006 First Amendment scholar to speak at Longwood
The address will serve as Longwood’s commemoration of Constitution Day, established by Congress to enlighten the public about the country’s founding legal document. O’Neil chose Sept. 11 as the date for this event to “focus on the effect of these past five years and heightened security on the general state of academic freedom.” O’Neil chaired a special committee of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to analyze the effects of the 2001 terrorist attacks on academic communities and the special rights and duties associated with the concept of academic freedom, one of the organization’s key beliefs. O’Neil is a professor in the University of Virginia School of Law, teaching courses that focus on constitutional law and the First Amendment. He is the founding director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression. He was president of U.Va. from 1985 to 1990. His publications include Free Speech in the College Community and The First Amendment and Civil Liability. His lecture, to be followed by a reception, is sponsored by the Longwood chapter of AAUP, with funding from the Virginia State Conference, and the American Democracy Project, of which Longwood is an original member. The American Democracy Project seeks to “increase civic education programs” at colleges and universities across the country. For more information, contact Martha Cook by e-mail (cookme@longwood.edu) or phone (434.395.2161). |
Constitutional scholar Robert O’Neil will speak Monday, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Molnar Recital Hall in Wygal on Academic Freedom and the First Amendment.