Constitutional Law Center Events

An integral part of the Constitutional Law Center's mission are the various lectures that invite the nation's top scholars, judges, and lawyers to campus.

Constitutional Law Symposium

The annual Constitutional Law Symposium invites scholars, judges, and lawyers from across the country to discuss a timely constitutional issue. The proceedings are published in the Drake Law Review.

2025 Constitutional Law Symposium: “A Global Comparison of Presidential Immunity in Democracies”

Saturday, March 29th, 2025
8:30-1:00 p.m.

Speakers: 

• Penelope Andrews, John Marshall Harlan Professor of Law and director, Racial Justice Project, New York Law School
• Carlos Bernal, professor of law, University of Dayton School of Law and former Justice of the Columbia Constitutional Court
• Stephen Vladeck, professor of law, Georgetown University Law Center
• Kieran Williams, associate professor and co-chair, Department of Political Science, Drake University

The program will be presented live and in person at Drake University Law School, with a livestream available for a broader audience.
Check back here early next year for registration information.

Past events 

Judge James Grant Iowa Constitution Lecture Series

In 2012, the Center initiated the Judge James Grant Iowa Constitution Lecture Series to feature prominent experts on the topic of the Iowa Constitution every other year. The event is made possible by the generous gifts of Patrick Grant, LW'76, and family. 

Todd Pettys
Interim Dean, Professor of Law, and H. Blair and Joan V. White Chair in Civil Litigation
University of Iowa College of Law

Thursday, April 10, 2025
3 p.m.
Drake University Law School, Cartwright Hall, Room 213 (in-person)
Livestream will be available.

Please return to this listing for more information.

Past events 

Distinguished Lecture Series

The Constitutional Law Center's Distinguished Lecture Series brings to campus the nation's leading constitutional scholars to engage students and faculty on the important issues of the day. Speakers deliver a formal lecture, teach a class, and meet with students in informal settings.

Associate Justice Leondra R. Kruger
Supreme Court of California

Thursday, April 17, 2025
3 p.m.
Drake University Law School, Cartwright Hall, Room 213 (in-person)
Livestream will be available.

Please return to this listing for more information.

Past events 

Constitution Day Lecture

Each year, Drake University holds an event in honor of Constitution Day. The event usually involves a speech by a distinguished expert in constitutional law. The speaker also typically meets with the faculty at the law school. 

Dwight D. Opperman Lecture series

In 1988, Dwight D. Opperman, LW'51, former chairman of West Publishing Company, endowed the lecture series to bring the country's top jurists and legal scholars to Drake. Since then, 11 U.S. Supreme Court justices have delivered the Opperman Lecture.

View a list of the Drake Constitutional Law Center's past events.