Dear Colleagues:

Happy Fall Semester, 2017! Along with students and classes, that means welcoming back participants in the Friday Public Affairs Lunch discussions, continuing the tradition begun in 1989.

I hope all participants, regular and occasional, have had healthy and rejuvenating Summers. The world continued, accumulating assorted disasters, while CWRU faculty and students mostly took a break from classes (but not learning, I hope!).. As I searched for speakers and topics for this Fall, however, I ended up with a tentative lineup that focuses less on the world’s disasters (though we’ll talk about some!) and a bit more, compared to most terms, on issues in our community and on campus. I hope the tentative lineup will be of interest, and thank all the colleagues who have agreed to speak. And of course I’m open to ideas about topics and speakers for the open dates, or for 2018! Please e-mail me at joseph.white@case.edu.

I also want to emphasize my thanks to Cyrus Taylor, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, for continuing support of the Center for Policy Studies’ activities; to Arnold Hirshorn and the staff of Kelvin Smith Library for their kindness and effort in hosting us; to Dr. Andrew Lucker for all his work on the newsletter and other CPS activities; and to Jessica Jurcak and Anna Conboy for their administrative support.

Most especially for this week, as we begin the term with our traditional Supreme Court discussion, I am very pleased and grateful to welcome back Professors Adler and Entin. We begin the year with one of the highlights.

The Supreme Court’s new term begins on the First Monday in October. Before it begins, two of our distinguished scholars of constitutional law will look back and forward.

For the past term, perhaps the biggest story is the vacancy that was finally filled when Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed on April 7. How did the vacancy affect the Court’s internal dynamics, and what role did Justice Gorsuch play once he arrived?

The Court did not make obvious blockbuster decisions last year, but there were many to discuss – such as the Cooper v. Harris ruling about drawing electoral districts based on race in North Carolina and the June 26 opinion (and likely future rulings) on President Trump’s travel ban. Among the issues in cases on the docket for next term are whether a bakery can refuse to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple; whether immigrants detained for removal proceedings have a right to a hearing before a judge; whether police need warrants for cellphone records; and more on partisan gerrymandering.

Our expert speakers’ knowledge and different perspectives ensure that this discussion every year is filled with both information and insight.

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies

About Our Guests

Jonathan Adler is the author or editor of four books on environmental policy and over a dozen book chapters. His articles have appeared in publications ranging from the Harvard Environmental Law Review and Supreme Court Economic Review to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Professor Adler is a Senior Fellow at the Property & Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Montana, a contributing editor to National Review Online and a regular contributor to the popular legal blog, “The Volokh Conspiracy” (http://volokh.com). A 2007 study identified Professor Adler as the most cited legal academic in environmental law under age 40. Among his recent works is A Conspiracy Against Obamacare: The Volokh Conspiracy and the Health Care Case, with Randy E. Barnett, David E. Bernstein, and Orin S. Kerr (Palgrave MacMillan, 2013).

Jonathan Entin has taught Constitutional Law; Administrative Law; Courts, Public Policy and Social Change; and a Supreme Court Seminar. Before joining the faculty in 1984, he clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (when she was on the U.S. Court of Appeals) and practiced in Washington with Steptoe & Johnson. The recipient of several teaching awards and a former co-editor of the Journal of Legal Education, he is at work on a book about equal protection. Among his recent publications are “Getting What You Pay For: Judicial Compensation and Judicial Independence,” Utah Law Review (2011) and “Responding to Political Corruption: Some Institutional Considerations,” Loyola University Chicago Law Journal (2011).

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library.

* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.

The Dampeer Room is on the second floor of the library. If you get off the elevators, turn right, pass the first bank of tables, and turn right again. Occasionally we need to use a different room; that will always be announced in the weekly e-mails.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

September 8: Beyond Today’s Corporate Sustainability Practices: Examples of Business Leaders Who Do Well by Doing Good. With Chris Laszlo Ph.D., Char and Chuck Fowler Professor of Business as an Agent of World Benefit and Executive Director, Fowler Center, Weatherhead School of Management. ***Alternate Location: Kelvin Smith Library, Room LL06 (lower level, opposite elevators)***

September 15: Does Trump Make a Difference? U.S. Policy in the Middle East. With Pete W. Moore Ph.D., Marcus A. Hanna Associate Professor of Political Science.

September 22: University Circle, Cleveland, and the “Opportunity Corridor.” With Robert N. Brown, FAICP, former Director of City Planning for the City of Cleveland.

September 29: Nutritious in More Ways Than One? School Lunch and Student Performance. With Justin Gallagher Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Economics.

October 6: The Budget Mess: Debt Ceilings, Shutdowns, and Health Care, Oh My! With Joseph White Ph.D., Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies. ***Alternate Location: Mather House, Room 100, 11201 Euclid Ave***

October 13: Public Health Lessons From the Ebola Outbreak. With Ronald Blanton M.D./M.Sc., Professor of International Health.

October 20: Students, Stress, and Sickness: Are There More Problems and, If So, Why? With Judith Olson-Hammer MS, Director of Educational Services for Students, and Richard B. Pazol Psy.D., Director of Counseling and Coordinator of Assessment Services, University Health and Counseling Services.

October 27: Patenting Pot. With Craig A. Nard J.D., L.L. M., J.S.D., Galen A. Roush Professor of Law and Director, Spangenberg Center for Law, Technology and the Arts.

November 3: Cleveland’s Muslim Community: History and Challenges. With Ramez Islambouli, Lecturer of Arabic and Islam; Adjunct Professor of Islamic Law; and President, Uqbah Mosque Foundation.

November 10: Lead Poisoning in Cleveland: Why, After All These Years? With Dorr Dearborn MD, Ph.D., Mary Ann Swetland Professor Emeritus and Department Chair Emeritus, Department of Environmental Health Sciences.

November 17: TBA

November 24: Thanksgiving Break

December 1: TBA

December 8: Environmental Policy in the Pruitt EPA. With Catherine J. LaCroix J.D., Adjunct Professor of Law.