News Release
School of Law presents Annual McElroy Lecture on Law and Religion
Nationally-Renowned Legal Scholar John Witte, Jr. as Guest Lecturer
On Wednesday, March 10, 2010, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is presenting a lecture by John Witte, Jr. of Emory Law School, as part of its annual McElroy Lecture Series on Law and Religion. This year’s lecture by Prof. Witte, “Rights, Resistance, and Revolution: The Historical Christian Foundations of Human Rights,” promises to be memorable and thought provoking. The lecture begins at 5:30 pm at Sts. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church, which is located immediately adjacent to the School of Law at 629 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit
Witte is a specialist in legal history, marriage law, and religious liberty. He is an internationally recognized speaker and lecturer. His writings have appeared in ten languages, and he has lectured throughout North America, Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, Israel, and South Africa. He has published 180 articles, 11 journal symposia, and 23 books – including recently The Sins of the Fathers: The Law and Theology of Illegitimacy Reconsidered (2009) and Christianity and Law: An Introduction (2008).
Witte received his bachelor of arts degree from Calvin College in 1982 and his juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1985. He is currently the Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law, Alonzo L. McDonald Distinguished Professor, and the Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. He has been honored ten times as the annual Most Outstanding Professor by the Student Bar Association of Emory Law School.
As background information, in February of 1998, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law began a lecture series dealing with prominent issues of religion, law, and society. Prior lecturers have been U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Stephen L. Carter, Adam Cardinal Maida, Hon. John T. Noonan, Jr., Michael John Perry, Dr. Jaroslav Pelikan, Dennis W. Archer, Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr., Cass R. Sunstein, Noah Feldman, Dr. Leslie Griffin, and Cardinal Roger Mahony. The School is able to sponsor this event due to a bequest from one of its graduates, Philip J. McElroy, to establish the Center of Law and Religion at UDM Law.
The lecture is complimentary and open to the public.
For more information about the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, visit www.law.udmercy.edu.
Contact: Denise Hickey, Assistant Dean of Alumni Relations and Special Projects
Phone: (313) 596-0202
E-mail: hickeydp@udmercy.edu
Release date: March 02, 2010
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The University of Detroit Mercy is Michigan's largest private Catholic University, offering approximately 100 majors and programs in 60 academic fields. Sponsored by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the University has three campuses located in downtown and northwest Detroit.
For the 12th consecutive year, UDM was ranked among the top tier of Midwestern master's universities in U.S.News & World Report's "Best Colleges," 2013 edition.
