Center for Constitutional Law
One of four centers established by Congress
Congress the Center for Constitutional Law at The University of Akron in 1986 as one of four national resource centers dedicated to legal research on constitutional issues. Akron Law created the Chair of Constitutional Law to fulfill this mission. The Center fosters scholarly research, public education, and student engagement on current topics of constitutional import.
The Center for Constitutional Law at Akron sponsors annual symposia with leading national scholars and papers are published in its faculty-edited journal, . The Center hosts speakers from the judiciary, who have included U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Arthur Goldberg, as well as Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the federal Sixth Circuit and Nancy Abudu, now judge on the Eleventh Circuit. It also sponsors a distinguished lecturer series that has welcomed scholars like Larry Solum, Reva Siegel, Ernie Young, Julie Suk, Maggie Blackhawk, Katie Eyer, Mary Anne Franks, and Paula Monopoli, among others. The Center partners with Akron’s renowned Bliss Institute of Applied Politics for law and politics programming.
The Center facilitates research by its affiliated faculty in a variety of constitutional subjects including federal courts, civil rights, criminal justice, the U.S. Supreme Court, and constitutional theory. It has a recognized legacy of scholarship in constitutional history on the Fourteenth Amendment including amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court. Collectively, the Center scholars’ research has appeared in leading law journals such as the Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, Iowa Law Review, Harvard Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and University of Pennsylvania Constitutional Law Journal.
Faculty Experts
Director of Center for Constitutional Law
Prof. Tracy Thomas
EVENTS
Call for Papers SCOTUS Blockbuster Cases 2026. Details here. Deadline September 25, 2026.
October 22, 2026 12:15pm to 1:15pm in Room 180
BOOK TALK: The First Woman Judge: The Life and Legacy of Florence Allen, by Prof. Tracy Thomas
October 22, 2026 5:00pm to 6:15pm in Room 180
BOOK TALK: The First Woman Judge: The Life and Legacy of Florence Allen, by Prof. Tracy Thomas
February 2, 2027 Virtual Symposium: Writing History into Law
ACADEMICS
Constitutional Law is the study of the U.S. Constitution and its provision of individual civil rights and government powers. Akron Law offers a Certificate of Study in Constitutional Law allowing students to concentrate their elective studies in the field. We also offer fellowships for law students to conduct research and programming for the Center and provide opportunities for individual research and publication. A joint degree of a JD/Master of Applied Politics is also available with the Bliss Institute. A wide variety of student organizations facilitate discussion and engagement with current issues.