Letter from the Editor
Dear Reader: The Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy presents the final issue of Volume 22. This Special Issue features the Journal’s annual symposium with the Georgetown Institute for […]
What if Universities Had Actual Trustees?
This article examines the governance challenges faced by universities, drawing a parallel between these institutions and business entities. It argues that universities, much like corporations, are structured with boards and […]
Recalibrating Public University Governing Boards
For most public universities in America, a single governing board of trustees (or regents) serves as the primary legal authority over the institutions within each state’s system of higher education. […]
University Governance: The Ethics of Answering to Two Bosses
University leaders sit at the helm of institutions that serve important public roles: preparing citizens, workers, and leaders who are able to join and transform existing social and economic structures. […]
University Governance As a Principle-Agent Problem
My work has always taken its cue from an ancient moral question: “how to live” as Plato put it. I call that a question of self-governance to mark it as […]
Fair-Weather Friends Are No Friends to Good Governance
Most American institutions of higher learning practice some form of shared governance, in which individual faculty and the faculty body retain substantive decision rights and meaningful spheres of authority. But […]
On the Impossibility of Free Inquiry within the American Academy
I. AS FLORIDA GOES. . . “What is happening in Florida?,” asked The Chronicle of Higher Education toward the beginning of 2023. At first blush, this question may appear easy […]
Permissible University Responses to Blameworthy Student Speech
INTRODUCTION The particular focus of this article stems from the general interest two of us have in the nature and value of individual liberty.1 It is by virtue of that […]
Civic Education and Speech in the College Classroom
INTRODUCTION Under pressure from legislators, the 13-campus University of Wisconsin System recently surveyed students on their views about free speech and their experiences relating to speech on their campus and […]
How Should Colleges Select Students?: Justice, Toleration, and University Admissions
As undergraduate education becomes a key formative experience for a larger percentage of the population, it is imperative that political philosophers consider the role of universities in bringing about a […]
Towards a Theory of Faculty Governance: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Union
I. INTRODUCTION Around four years ago, a colleague at McGill University approached me with the idea that the professors in the Faculty of Law should seek to form a faculty […]
Academic Freedom and the California Ethnic Studies Curriculum
Academic freedom and free speech issues on university campuses do not generally focus on questions of curriculum but, rather, on individual actors. As an academic dean whose primary responsibility is […]
The Terrible Irony of Teaching Business Ethics in the Modern University
I. INTRODUCTION I have been teaching ethics courses at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business (MSB) for many years. Such courses, usually designated Business Ethics courses, have long been the […]
Cannabis, Justice, Race, and Politics
INTRODUCTION: CANNABIS AND CLEMENCY Almost two years after Maryland voters approved a referendum legalizing the possession or use of cannabis for medical or recreational purposes, on June 17, 2024, Maryland […]
Navigating the ADA-HAVA Nexus: Balancing Election Accessibility, Security, and Technology
In the contemporary landscape of American democracy, the interplay between the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) represents a critical juncture in […]
Constitutional Validity of Public Donor Disclosure Requirements for Dark Money Organizations with a Focus on 501(C)(4)s
In today’s political environment, running a winning campaign requires an exorbitant amount of money. Nearly $9 billion was spent in the 2022 congressional elections alone.1 There is no shortage of […]
Not a Physical Taking: Defending Rent Control Against New Constitutional Challenges
This note is the first to systematically analyze constitutional challenges to rent control law landlords sought to bring before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2023-24 term. This note analyzes […]