Education (Colleges & Universities)
Education (Colleges & Universities)
Here's a look at documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
Yale University: What a 2015 Church Burning Reveals About Race and American Religious Life - An Interview With Professor Todne Thomas
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Dec. 16 -- Yale University issued the following news:* * *
What a 2015 church burning reveals about race and American religious life: An interview with Professor Todne Thomas
In the new episode of the YDS "Quadcast," Todne Thomas, Associate Professor of Divinity and Religious Studies, discusses her research on a Tennessee church burning and the value of ethnographic study of religious life in America.
"A lot of times when we hear information about U.S. religious life, so much of it is based on polls, which do a particular kind of work," Thomas says, noting that polls ... Show Full Article NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Dec. 16 -- Yale University issued the following news: * * * What a 2015 church burning reveals about race and American religious life: An interview with Professor Todne Thomas In the new episode of the YDS "Quadcast," Todne Thomas, Associate Professor of Divinity and Religious Studies, discusses her research on a Tennessee church burning and the value of ethnographic study of religious life in America. "A lot of times when we hear information about U.S. religious life, so much of it is based on polls, which do a particular kind of work," Thomas says, noting that pollslack nuance and often focus on political dimensions of faith. "Religious life is important, whether we're in an election year or not."
Listen to this episode on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/yaleuniversity/what-a-2015-church-burning-reveals-about-race-religion-and-life-in-america-with-professor-todne-thomas?si=0ac1b83457834d4f8baea6c5caa807df&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing).
Todne Thomas is a socio-cultural anthropologist with joint appointment at Yale Divinity School and Yale College. In collaboration with Afro-Caribbean and African American congregants, Thomas conducts ethnographic research on the racial, spatial, and familial dynamics of Black Christian communities. Her scholarship and teaching explore intersectional constructions of power and critical forms of consciousness and practice that attend modalities of "the sacred."
Her forthcoming book From Hate to Hallows: Re-framing Black Church Arson (contracted with Duke University Press) examines the burning of a predominately Black Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2015. She argues that Black church arson is an interpretive phenomenon that is best apprehended through local explanatory frameworks of religion, race, and hallowed ground.
The YDS Quadcast is hosted by Emily Judd '19 M.A.R., who is Senior Communications Specialist at the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity. She previously worked as a journalist in the Middle East.
Download the transcript for this episode (https://divinity.yale.edu/media/977/download?inline).
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Original text here: https://divinity.yale.edu/news/2025-12-12-what-a-2015-church-burning-reveals-about-race-and-american-religious-life-an
Vanderbilt Law School Issues Commentary: Why Do Problematic Lawyers End Up Serving the Neediest Clients?
NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 16 -- Vanderbilt Law School issued the following commentary on Dec. 15, 2025:* * *
Why Do Problematic Lawyers End Up Serving the Neediest Clients?
By Nate Luce
America faces a shortage of lawyers, due in part to high barriers to entry and a monolithic definition of legal practice. The consequences are well documented in legal scholarship. Attorney scarcity increases the cost of professional services, making it difficult for the neediest of clients - rural poor, indigent defendants, accident victims, children, older adults, and immigrants among them - to secure representation. ... Show Full Article NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 16 -- Vanderbilt Law School issued the following commentary on Dec. 15, 2025: * * * Why Do Problematic Lawyers End Up Serving the Neediest Clients? By Nate Luce America faces a shortage of lawyers, due in part to high barriers to entry and a monolithic definition of legal practice. The consequences are well documented in legal scholarship. Attorney scarcity increases the cost of professional services, making it difficult for the neediest of clients - rural poor, indigent defendants, accident victims, children, older adults, and immigrants among them - to secure representation.Despite this commonly acknowledged issue of access, state bars have done little to reform licensure.
The problem, according to licensing expert Rebecca Haw Allensworth, is not just a matter of over-regulation. In her paper "The Hypocrisy of Attorney Licensing," the Vanderbilt Law Professor explores how barriers to entry, along with a lenient disciplinary regime, steer the most unethical and incompetent lawyers to the clients in greatest need.
"As strict as state bars are when it comes to entry requirements and ethics rules, they are lax when it comes to professional discipline," she writes. "The system puts public protection in the back seat."
High Barriers to Entry
Licensing regimes argue that rigorous bar exams and restrictive practice rules ensure that lawyers are qualified and act in their clients' interest. They also protect lawyers from competition and enhance the perceived value of the profession, Allensworth contends.
She also notes that, as some critics of the attorney licensing system have argued, "attorney self-regulation has resulted in a balance of regulation that can only be justified as protecting the public if we define the public as those with financial means." High barriers to entry drive up the cost of legal services, making it difficult for people with fewer resources to afford them.
Disciplinary Shortcomings
While regulators have the capacity to protect the public from incompetent and unethical lawyers, Allensworth argues that the process fails to work as intended, for several reasons.
The disciplinary system relies entirely on complaints from clients, who may not recognize malpractice, overlook transgressions when they benefit their case, or be unwilling to confront a system that Allensworth describes as "elite, hierarchical, and inherently litigious." Some authorities fail to make the process transparent; others warn that complainants may be sued. As a result, she contends that the number of recorded complaints likely understates the number of problematic lawyers and depth of misconduct.
Moreover, complaints that do get filed rarely result in disciplinary action (roughly 3%), which can take years to accomplish, due in part to "extraordinary legal protections that lawyers have built for themselves into the disciplinary process," Allensworth writes.
Lastly, she reviews studies that uncover a system that exercises lax enforcement and favors "second chances," even for attorneys who have stolen money or coerced sex from clients.
"Adding it up, scholars of the profession are essentially unanimous in finding the self-regulatory legal disciplinary system lacking," she writes. "It does not detect or punish most
wrongdoing at all, and when it does act, it is too little, too late. The system is set up to re-admit dangerous, unethical, and incompetent providers in the profession - the likes of which would probably never clear the bar for admission in the first place."
Why Disciplined Lawyers End up Serving the Most Needful
Allensworth notes that disciplined lawyers gravitate to solo or small firm practice. Citing research from Northwestern Law School Professor Kyle Rozema, she points out that disciplined lawyers at large- and mid-sized firms leave their firms at significantly higher rates than their non-disciplined peers, and that many will go on to start solo firms. This supports existing data which shows higher rates of discipline among solo and small-firm practitioners versus large firms.
Solo practitioners, Allensworth notes, gravitate to areas of "great unmet demand" to maintain their practices. These areas, which include family law, personal injury, workers compensation, and immigration law, often involve lower-income, one-time clients with limited exposure to the law. Compounding the issue, court-appointed attorneys are likely drawn disproportionally from solo and small-firm practice, due to low reimbursement rates.
Why it Matters
The consequences of this system are dangerous for clients and society at large, Professor Allensworth contends. It generates opportunities for sexually abusive attorneys to take advantage of vulnerable clients with limited power and a lot to lose. Attorneys performing low-paying work for low-income clients or as a court-appointed lawyer are motivated to run "settlement mills" - high-case volume operations that involve limited investigation and client interaction. Lastly, problematic lawyers in solo or small-firm practices lack the supervision, accountability, and mentoring provided at larger firms.
"It is true that any market will feature a sorting mechanism by which the most desirable providers go to the highest-paying clients...[but] [p]rofessional licensure is supposed to blunt these forces of capitalism by creating a floor below which providers cannot pass, to assure any client, low-income or otherwise, that their lawyer meets a minimum standard," she writes. "Incompetent lawyers can create significant harm."
Proposals for Reform
Professor Allensworth's recommendations fall into two distinct categories:
* A clearer definition of what it means to practice law, one that allows non-licensed advisors and professionals such as social workers, accountants, paralegals, clerks, and administrative assistants to "walk up to the line of legal practice without fear of bar sanction or criminal prosecution
* An overhauled disciplinary system that can be counted on to remove bad actors, with rules and guidelines that states adhere to. This includes stricter rules around inappropriate sexual behavior with clients, as well as stronger punishments for misappropriate of funds and client neglect. Complainants should be immune from suit, and greater transparency should be baked into the system.
Most importantly, she argues that cases should be decided by panels that are not "dominated by lawyers - other professionals and members of the community should have a say in defining competence and ethicality in the provision of legal services."
"Only once we are prepared to be held accountable to someone other than another lawyer will we confront the fact that the legal licensing system is designed not to meet the country's overall demand for legal services but to meet the needs of the elite, and, above all else, the needs of the profession itself."
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Original text here: https://law.vanderbilt.edu/why-do-problematic-lawyers-serve-the-neediest-clients/
University of Texas-Austin: Cytomegalovirus Breakthrough Could Lead to Treatments
AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 16 (TNSjou) -- The University of Texas issued the following news release:* * *
Cytomegalovirus Breakthrough Could Lead to New Treatments
New antibody design blocks cytomegalovirus from hiding from the immune system and could lead to safer, more effective treatments for vulnerable patients.
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Researchers at Texas Biologics at The University of Texas at Ausitn, working with scientists internationally, have made an important discovery that could improve treatment of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a common but overlooked virus that poses serious risks to vulnerable populations, ... Show Full Article AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 16 (TNSjou) -- The University of Texas issued the following news release: * * * Cytomegalovirus Breakthrough Could Lead to New Treatments New antibody design blocks cytomegalovirus from hiding from the immune system and could lead to safer, more effective treatments for vulnerable patients. * Researchers at Texas Biologics at The University of Texas at Ausitn, working with scientists internationally, have made an important discovery that could improve treatment of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a common but overlooked virus that poses serious risks to vulnerable populations,including people with compromised immune systems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus is the most infectious cause of birth defects in the United States.
The widespread virus -- with global infection rates above 80%, according to some estimates -- is hard to treat because it can evade the immune system. The research team, which includes leading scientists and engineers from the University of Freiburg and Cardiff University, developed a new type of antibody with a modified structure that can outsmart the virus and neutralize its ability to evade the immune system.
"Our engineered antibodies are like a lock that the virus can't pick," said Jennifer Maynard, a professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering's McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering and one of the lead authors on the new research published in Cell. "They retain their ability to activate the immune system but are no longer vulnerable to the virus's tricks."
Despite its prevalence, there is no vaccine for HCMV and recent efforts stalled following setbacks. Current treatments rely on antiviral drugs that can have toxic side effects and lead to drug resistance, creating an urgent need for safer and more effective therapies.
The virus spreads from person to person through body fluids. And like all herpesviruses such as canker sores and chicken pox, it stays in the body for life after infection.
In experiments, the antibody prevented the virus from spreading between cells, a key feature of HCMV that makes it so difficult to control. The antibodies significantly reduced viral dissemination in infected cell cultures, showing the ability to slow the spread of the virus.
"It's like a tug-of-war between the virus and the immune system," said Ahlam N. Qerqez, lead author of the study, a former doctoral student in Maynard's lab, and now a senior scientist at Denali Therapeutics. "The virus has evolved clever strategies to pull antibodies away from their intended targets, making it harder for the immune system to do its job."
The virus produces special proteins called viral Fc receptors (vFcyRs) that interfere with the body's natural defense mechanisms. These proteins bind to antibodies -- immune system molecules that normally help fight infections -- and prevent them from activating immune cells such as natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells are responsible for clearing out infected cells, but HCMV's vFcyRs essentially "hijack" antibodies, rendering them ineffective.
The engineered antibodies are designed to avoid HCMV's vFcyRs while still activating NK cells to attack infected cells.
The team focused on a specific type of antibody called IgG1, which plays a key role in fighting infections. By studying how HCMV interacts with IgG1, the researchers identified the exact regions of the antibody that the virus targets and altered them to prevent the virus from binding.
For most healthy individuals, HCMV sits dormant and causes no symptoms. However, for people with weakened immune systems -- such as organ transplant recipients, cancer patients and newborns -- the virus can lead to severe complications, including organ damage, developmental delays and even death. HCMV is also the leading infectious cause of congenital birth defects, affecting up to 2% of pregnancies worldwide.
The antibody engineering techniques developed by the team could be applied to other viruses that use similar immune evasion strategies, such as other herpesviruses and even certain bacterial infections. Additionally, the findings highlight the importance of targeting infected cells -- not just the virus itself -- in developing effective treatments.
"This work represents a paradigm shift in how we think about antiviral therapies," said Jason McLellan, a professor in the College of Natural Sciences' Department of Molecular Biosciences at UT and co-author of the paper. "Instead of just trying to neutralize the virus, we're focusing on empowering the immune system to clear infected cells. It's a more holistic approach that could lead to better patient outcomes."
The engineered proteins will require several more rounds of testing before they can be used in clinical settings. The team is also investigating combining their approach with other therapies, such as antiviral drugs or vaccines, to create a comprehensive treatment strategy.
Other team members are George Georgiou, Sumit Pareek, George Delidakis, Amjad Chowdhury and Annalee W. Nguyen of the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering; Alison G. Lee, Kelli Hager, Akaash K. Mishra, Mica Cabrera and Truong Nguyen of the Department of Molecular Biosciences at UT; Kirsten Bentley, Lauren Kerr-Jones and Richard Stanton of Cardiff University's School of Medicine; and Katja Hoffmann, Rebecca L. Gottler, Philipp Kolb and Hartmut Hengel of the University of Freiburg.
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Original text here: https://news.utexas.edu/2025/12/15/cytomegalovirus-breakthrough-could-lead-to-new-treatments/
UNCG Spartan Cyber Guardian Academy Supports Students, Community
GREENSBORO, North Carolina, Dec. 16 -- The University of North Carolina Greensboro campus issued the following news:* * *
UNCG Spartan Cyber Guardian Academy Supports Students, Community
It was a $1 million grant from Google that helped launch the Spartan Cyber Guardian Academy (SCGA) at UNC Greensboro in January 2025. And by the end of Spring semester, the clinic had already served 13 nonprofits, exceeding initial goals.
The first of its kind at a North Carolina university, this cybersecurity service and research hub is housed in the Bryan School of Business & Economics, and it's quickly ... Show Full Article GREENSBORO, North Carolina, Dec. 16 -- The University of North Carolina Greensboro campus issued the following news: * * * UNCG Spartan Cyber Guardian Academy Supports Students, Community It was a $1 million grant from Google that helped launch the Spartan Cyber Guardian Academy (SCGA) at UNC Greensboro in January 2025. And by the end of Spring semester, the clinic had already served 13 nonprofits, exceeding initial goals. The first of its kind at a North Carolina university, this cybersecurity service and research hub is housed in the Bryan School of Business & Economics, and it's quicklybecome a big hit with both the students and organizations it was designed to serve.
This service-learning model consists of both classroom and clinical components, and while UNCG students can and do participate, the clinic is open to students from other local universities, community colleges, and high schools as well.
UNCG students Taj Poole and Matthew O'Connor wax poetic about what they have learned at SCGA, and Forge Greensboro's Executive Director Tiffany Jacobs shares what it's like to be on the receiving end of the clinic's service model.
Hands-On Cybersecurity Training for Students
Students gain weeks of cybersecurity training at the clinic and then offer their services free of charge to local organizations, including nonprofits, educational institutions, small- to medium-sized businesses, community and health care centers, and municipalities.
Pursuing a bachelor's in information systems and supply chain management, Poole immediately knew this program was for him.
"Since I want to do this professionally, I knew this was the best chance to get hands-on cybersecurity experience - to go beyond the surface-level and see what cybersecurity professionals actually do," he says.
Poole quickly credits Dr. Moez Farokhnia Hamedani with piquing his interest in the field during his first year at UNCG. Known fondly as "Dr. Moez," he's the principal investigator and SCGA clinic director.
Poole appreciates being able to participate in the academy for free, work with mentors from Google, and earn cybersecurity certifications in his field.
In the same program as Poole, O'Connor is set to graduate in Spring 2026.
A community college transfer student, a military member, and father of a 2-year-old son, O'Connor also appreciates his SCGA experience.
"The clinic was a blast," he says. "I received insightful, individualized cybersecurity training from local leaders and Google mentors."
Cybersecurity Clinics Help Nonprofits Strengthen Security
Poole describes how the SCGA student teams conduct cybersecurity-readiness audits for nonprofits.
The student team sent questionnaires to the nonprofits before conducting on-site interviews; the students then reviewed the questionnaires and scheduled the interviews.
"The questionnaire secures information on what the nonprofit has and what it needs," says Poole. "We look at things like security policies, security posture, and use of two-factor authentication."
The student team goes through the questionnaire checklist with each nonprofit and then prepares cybersecurity reports for them, including reasonable action items for improvement as needed.
"We talk to the clients and use the cybersecurity training we learned throughout the clinic to help them improve their infrastructure," says O'Connor, who was the student who spearheaded Forge Greensboro's cyber security analysis.
Forging Community Partnerships Through Cybersecurity
Forge Greensboro is a nonprofit community makerspace in downtown Greensboro, with three core and six part-time staff members. That's a fairly slim team, considering they serve 400+ members.
Executive Director Tiffany Jacobs was, therefore, eager to participate when she learned about SCGA through Lakshmi Iyer, Ph.D., SCGA Clinic co-PI, and Forge Greensboro became a recipient of the clinic's services.
"Participation with SCGA gave us an opportunity to peel back the layers and have a robust examination of the systems we have in place," she says.
After meeting with Moez and a team of students and receiving a report, Forge Greensboro implemented the cybersecurity recommendations, one of which was cybersecurity insurance.
"To have this extra layer of protection, which makes us less vulnerable, was definitely a value-add for us," says Jacobs, who acknowledges most small nonprofits do not have the budget for the work provided by SCGA.
Therefore, she highly recommends this program to other nonprofit organizations because to grow, organizations must be future-forward and future-ready.
"What I liked is they did not try to change our current systems - they just looked at what we had and made that system better," says Jacob.
Cybersecurity Certifications and Career Impact
Both Poole and O'Connor see "hands-on learning" as the biggest benefit of the clinic. And both are thrilled about the certification voucher every student receives upon completion.
"I am working on Security+ certification, to understand the security infrastructure required to make a cyber environment secure," says O'Connor. "The vouchers are worth their weight in gold."
Both students are also clear about how this opportunity will impact their future careers. Poole seeks to become a consultant, possibly working with Google's internal cybersecurity workforce or an IT help desk.
"I'm getting as much experience as I can during school, so I can seamlessly enter the workforce when I graduate," says Poole.
O'Connor's participation is already helping him advance in the field. He's currently talking to the NC DOJ State Crime Lab about a potential internship in cyberforensics.
"I am extremely thankful to be part of this and to collaborate with local leaders and business owners in making something better than it was beforehand," he says.
- Amy Burtch, AMBCopy
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Original text here: https://www.uncg.edu/news/uncg-spartan-cyber-guardian-academy/
Northwestern Perspective: Civil Procedure
CHICAGO, Illinois, Dec. 16 -- The Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law issued the following school news:* * *
Northwestern Perspective: Civil Procedure
By Ed Finkel
Civil procedure provides the backbone for how legal cases move forward, from when a case is first filed to the ultimate conclusion. It's also a keystone of the research undertaken at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where faculty collectively constitute a renowned, generationally and intellectually diverse set of viewpoints.
The roll call of civil procedure scholars includes Interim Dean Zachary Clopton, Daniel ... Show Full Article CHICAGO, Illinois, Dec. 16 -- The Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law issued the following school news: * * * Northwestern Perspective: Civil Procedure By Ed Finkel Civil procedure provides the backbone for how legal cases move forward, from when a case is first filed to the ultimate conclusion. It's also a keystone of the research undertaken at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where faculty collectively constitute a renowned, generationally and intellectually diverse set of viewpoints. The roll call of civil procedure scholars includes Interim Dean Zachary Clopton, DanielHale Williams Professor of Law; Martin Redish, Louis and Harriet Ancel Professor of Law and Public Policy; James Pfander, Owen L. Coon Professor of Law; Myriam Gilles, Catharine Waugh McCulloch Professor of Law; and Monica Haymond, Assistant Professor of Law.
"I think we have the best civil procedure faculty in the country, full stop," Clopton says. "Marty is a national treasure. Jim is an amazing scholar of federal jurisdiction, civil rights litigation, and the history of the courts. Myriam is a leading expert in complex litigation; she also does a lot of really interesting public policy work around mandatory arbitration. And Monica is a rising star in civil procedure. It's amazing to be on a faculty with this group of people, to have lunch and talk about procedure."
Martin Redish: Bridging Procedural and Constitutional Law
James Pfander: Government Accountability and Courts' Role
Myriam Gilles: Mandatory Arbitration and Class Actions
Zachary Clopton: State Courts and Sub-Local Rules
Monica Haymond: Third-Party Interveners and Incoming Administrations
Bridging Procedural and Constitutional Law
Martin Redish
Redish, who teaches Civil Procedure I and II and Federal Jurisdiction, says he's as much as constitutional law scholar as a procedure scholar, which is "a mixture that doesn't happen often" and he believes should be more common. "That is a serious flaw in our system," he says. "Much of procedure has enormous implications for constitutional law, but there are very few people who do both, so mostly those [implications] are left unattended by constitutional analysis."
Cited in the First Amendment Encyclopedia as "one of the nation's foremost authorities on constitutional law and the First Amendment," Redish says much of his work in procedure seeks to bridge it with constitutional law "and find the constitutional problems that plague procedure." For example, about half of his recent book Due Process in American Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2024) covers civil procedure, viewed through the lens of constitutional theory and constitutional doctrine.
Redish is currently working on a book, titled Federal Jurisdiction and Constitutional Democracy, about how the laws surrounding federal jurisdiction often have been shaped without looking at how they're situated within the broader functions of constitutional democracy, which balances majoritarian decisions by representative bodies and counter-majoritarian constitutional limits.
"Both aspects of that have been ignored in the shaping of federal jurisdiction," he says, adding that one chapter focuses on the 11th Amendment's guarantee of state sovereign immunity in federal court, "and how it has been interpreted in a completely incoherent way, ignoring the guarantees of the Constitution by enabling states to escape liability."
As part of Northwestern's famed Senior Research Program, Redish is also writing an article with one of his students about the constitutional implications of what he terms "procedural collectivism," which applies primarily in multi-district litigation and class-action lawsuits. "Where the system tries to adjudicate--collectively--numerous, often countless individual instances of potential liability, it groups them tighter, in ways that are sometimes problematic. It's often a square peg in a round hole," he says. This project, it turns out, was inspired by a friendly disagreement with recently arrived Northwestern colleague Myriam Gilles. "I've admired her work. I pushed very hard for us to hire her, and I'm excited she's here," Redish says.
With another student, Redish has coauthored an article, to be published in the North Carolina Law Review, about the doctrine of federal jurisdiction and its historical origins. The article will establish "that the doctrine known as 'our federalism'--federal court deference to ongoing state judicial criminal proceedings--rests on a historical house of cards, when you compare the work of modern historians to the kind of analysis the Supreme Court used in setting up this doctrine," he says. "They completely misused history. It's an interdisciplinary piece that leans heavily into the work of historians about the post-Civil War period."
Finally, Redish has been invited to give an endowed lecture at UCLA in March on the topic of free expression, which in a sense will bring him full circle to his origins. "I started my career writing about free speech and the First Amendment, and in many ways, I am best known for that," he says.
Government Accountability and Courts' Role
James Pfander
Pfander teaches Civil Procedure to 1L students at Northwestern, and three classes to upper-division students: Federal Jurisdiction; Conflicts of Law; and Remedies, the latter of which dovetails with his research interests in jurisdictional law and accountable government. He also oversees independent study projects and frequently collaborates with 3Ls on senior research projects.
"The senior research program allows me to partner with a dedicated student to explore in detail questions of law, policy, and history that have come up in my own work," he says. "It's a fruitful and productive way to extend the faculty's research capacity and to work more closely with our students than would be possible in the context of a large lecture class."
Pfander's scholarship centers on government accountability and the important role federal courts play in ensuring that governments stay within the bounds of the law. "It's a busy time for me right now," he says. In the past six months, Pfander has joined in filing amicus briefs in such notable Supreme Court cases as Trump v. CASA (regarding universal injunctions); Enbridge LLP v. Nessel (equitable tolling of removal deadlines); and Trump v. Cook (remedies for wrongly removed federal officers).
In addition, Pfander has been consulting with state legislatures as they consider laws to safeguard individual rights from unconstitutional forms of civil immigration enforcement. His paper on federal officer suits under the Federal Tort Claims Act recently appeared in the Harvard Law Review.
On another front, Pfander was tapped to serve as a reporter to the American Law Institute's Restatement of the Law of Constitutional Torts, a project directly related to his research interests in the use of the Bivens action to secure federal official compliance with law. In October, the ALI's Council approved an early draft of the project, but this work will continue for several more months.
Pfander's books include: One Supreme Court, which shows that Congress cannot deprive the Court of its power to superintend the work of inferior tribunals; Constitutional Torts and the War on Terror, which reckoned with the difficulty individuals faced in securing redress for forms of torture and extraordinary rendition inflicted by U.S. officials in the aftermath of 9/11; and Cases Without Controversies, a demonstration that the language and history of Article III empower Congress to assign a much broader array of proceedings to the federal courts than current doctrine allows.
Pfander also conducts comparative assessments of constitutional courts in the United States and those of other legal systems, such as the European Court of Human Rights and European Court of Justice. He has taught or lectured in such countries as Scotland, England, Portugal, Romania, Israel, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic on a wide array of comparative topics including sovereign immunity and the rule of law.
In the spring, Pfander will teach and lecture on comparative courts at the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), and he will convene a seminar at the Scottish Court of Session on the influence of the Scottish model of judicial hierarchy on the structure of the Article III judiciary in the United States.
Pfander's work overlaps with that of Redish on questions related to federal jurisdiction, with that of Clopton and Haymond on the vexed problem of universal injunctions, and with Gilles and Clopton in the area of complex litigation. "It's a pleasure to be in conversation with so able a group of colleagues. All of us routinely share drafts of our work with one another as we refine our ideas," he says.
Mandatory Arbitration and Class Actions
Myriam Gilles
Gilles, who joined the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law faculty in July after 26 years at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, teaches and writes about civil procedures, complex litigation, and torts. She has taught 1L classes in Civil Procedure and Torts, and she will teach Product Liability in the spring semester.
While procedure is the spine of the civil legal system, torts is "one of the meatier parts of the law that hang off that spine--contracts, property, and other issues," Gilles says. "I try to help students see the connection between the rules and the substance they are trying to regulate. Torts and Procedure [courses] are a nice way to do that in the 1L year."
When it comes to scholarship and writing, Gilles is best known for her work related to mandatory arbitration, which governs provisions that bind almost every transaction, and which typically say that a case cannot be brought to court or be brought as part of a class or collective. The U.S. Supreme Court approved such provisions about a decade ago, "which inures greatly to the benefit of big companies," she says. "It's basically a form of legal immunity if they can force every claim into a private, one-on-one setting."
Gilles testified before Congress to help get a statute enacted in 2022 that prevents employers from doing so in cases of sexual harassment or sexual assault. "The theory--that somehow we were able to get senators to see--is that this is endemic in American workplaces, and it only becomes a bigger problem if they're muzzled and forced into some silent setting," she says.
She hopes to help push through a bill that would apply to all mandatory arbitration. "A lot of my work has been advocacy," Gilles says. "But I write about these provisions as well. I serve as an expert in some of these cases because there is so much law, and many judges remain pretty ignorant about what the provisions are, and whether they're enforceable, and what obligations the judge has."
Gilles also has written about class actions under Federal Rule 23(c), which allows judges to certify not only classes of people, but particular issues common to the class as well. "I argued, in a series of three or four articles, that this is a procedure that might be able to alleviate some of the more negative consequences of the Supreme Court's class action jurisprudence, cases in which the court has made class actions harder to bring," she says.
Gilles has also written about qui tam, meaning "in the name of the king," which allows private citizens to stand in the shoes of the government, whether federal or state, and bring a claim in the name of that government, which happens federally under the False Claims Act. "This is an aspect of my writing that focuses on the importance of private enforcement, even when there are tons of headwinds that might prevent it," she says. She describes the mechanism as: "See something, say something. Tell us, but not only that, we're going to give you a bounty, by giving you a cut of whatever you're able to recover."
States have analogous statutes, and one of the more effective has been legislation in California that allows workers who believe their rights have been infringed upon to bring a claim on behalf of the state's labor division for issues like wage theft and workplace safety violations, Gilles says. "Where can we work with the private bar and private citizens to maximize the deterrent value?" she says. "We don't want to keep bringing lawsuits. We want companies, and employers, to be fearful of lawsuits so they don't violate the law."
State Courts and Sub-Local Rules
Zachary Clopton
Clopton, a nationally recognized scholar of civil procedure, complex litigation, and international litigation, has served for the past two years on the national Advisory Committee on Civil Rules after receiving an appointment from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Clopton usually teaches Civil Procedure to first-year students, as well as International Litigation. In his early career, his scholarly research focused on the international side of law, drawing from his interest in how issues were resolved when legal systems conflicted. "What do we do about a transaction between a company in the United States and a company in China over a business that's going to operate in Brazil?" he says. "You have three different legal systems that answer questions in three different ways, and how do we figure that out?"
Some of Clopton's earlier work focused on how U.S. courts would handle those types of situations, and he quickly realized that questions about conflicting legal systems also applied to cases involving more than one state, or the federal system versus a state, or even civil versus criminal law. "I moved into thinking more broadly about the ways that we organize the legal system, and then the ways, when we have different jurisdictions or different structures, that they need to interact with one another," he says.
While most civil procedure scholars write about federal courts, state courts handle more than 100 times as many cases, and there are 50 of them--so Clopton, over time, has concentrated some of his efforts there. "They're all different, and often their records are harder to access," he says. "I wrote a series of papers answering what I thought were some fundamental questions about how state courts are structured. ... No one had really written the 50-state paper about how state courts make their rules of procedure."
Even more granularly, Clopton's research also has examined court- and even judge-specific rules, such as local rules, standing orders, or individual judge practices, "just trying to have a deeper understanding of what those rules are, and how they get made," he says. "Who participates in the making of the local rules in the Northern District of Illinois?" Clopton's papers in this area, coauthored with Professor Marin K. Levy at Duke Law School, will be published in the Virginia Law Review and Duke Law Journal.
Sub-local rules came into play in recent habeas corpus litigation, when the Trump administration sought to challenge a federal court's policies related to deportation "through the unusual mechanism of suing, by name, all of the federal judges in Maryland," Clopton says. "Part of the reason that they chose that approach is that it's unclear how you go about challenging these sub-local rules because they're not adopted through the normal rulemaking system. ... So, these seemingly technical, procedural questions have big impacts on the kinds of cases we're reading about in the newspaper every day."
What binds the various strands of Clopton's research is an abiding interest in the courts and civil litigation as institutions of public policy. "I want to think about how things like court structure, jurisdictional rules, and rules of procedure affect the way that these institutions do the work that they do," he says. "It's maybe more of a social science perspective on the courts than a purely doctrinal, legal one."
Clopton considers it "an enormous honor" to serve on the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, which makes and amends the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, "the thing I've spent my career teaching and studying," he says. Lately, the committee has been discussing third-party litigation financing and how to resolve the legal, financial, and ethical questions of such arrangements. "Should they be disclosed to the court? Should they be disclosed to the other parties? To the general public?" he says.
Clopton's work has been cited both in academic papers and judicial rulings, and he's grateful that judges and other court officials have reached out to talk to him about what he's learned. "On this new local-rules project, a number of judges have said, 'We'd like to do things better in our district. Can you talk to us about what you've learned?'" he says. "Not because they're going to do exactly what I say, but because I now have built a sense of what the options are. I've learned in these projects that the courts are often really eager for information, but it's not readily accessible. And one of the things academics can do is, they can collect, organize, and present this kind of information that many people want and don't have."
Third-Party Interveners and Incoming Administrations
Monica Haymond
Haymond teaches Federal Jurisdiction, an upper-division civil procedure course about the powers of the federal court system and the doctrines particular to it, including how cases can be heard there and what procedural missteps prevent cases from being heard. It's a "course that's essential to anyone interested in litigation, generally, but especially if they plan to litigate in federal court, or clerk for a federal judge--or even if they just want to understand the news," she says.
In addition, Haymond teaches a seminar course every year, called Procedural Issues in Public Law Litigation, which raises "a collection of different doctrines that come up in federal litigation, in cases particular to the federal government and public law generally," she says. For example, "We discuss how you proceed in a class action, and when courts put limits on the ability to sue the federal government as a class. ... It's about blackletter law, but also what public policy issues are affected by those doctrines," she adds.
Haymond has tackled three main research projects during her academic career, which followed seven and a half years of practice in appellate litigation and began with a two-year stint as a Climenko Fellow at Harvard Law School before she arrived at Northwestern in July 2024. Her first published paper looked at how the rules of civil procedure potentially allow third-party outsiders to change the substantive outcome of a case, which can happen in surprising ways in significant cases, like suits seeking nationwide injunctions to stop the enforcement of federal policies.
"Courts have an incredible amount of discretion under the rules of civil procedure about whether to allow an outsider in," she says. "When a court says an intervener can or can't come in, they are also necessarily making a decision about how the rest of the case is going to proceed. ... The arguments and evidence in a case are usually all shaped by how the case proceeds in the district court, which then limits how the advocates can tee up the questions in the case for the Supreme Court."
Haymond's second paper, which she plans to publish next year, looks at how newly elected presidents use court judgments to change substantive rules in a way that furthers their own public policy goals. Given that incoming presidents inherit pending cases against the previous administration, some of which might have ended in a nationwide injunction or universal vacatur, the new administration can decide to dismiss or not file a pending appeal. Doing so erases a rule the president otherwise would have needed to go through an onerous notice and comment process to appeal, she says.
The Supreme Court has suggested that the maneuver to circumvent this may be unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, Haymond says, and some justices have suggested it might be a reason to hold that courts don't have the power to universally vacate rules. But her research concludes that the workaround is lawful, however much it might seem "normatively undesirable," and she believes that using this practice to justify circumscribing the power of courts to vacate federal rules would be "throwing the baby out with the bathwater."
Haymond is also working on project that analyzes how the rules of civil procedure enable courts to grant remedies that are sometimes broader than what parties initially had in mind, and how those procedural rules influence other constitutional doctrines that affect how public law cases are litigated. This procedural rule was written with private parties in mind, she says, and courts have been left to figure out how it applies in public law litigation largely without public input. "At a time when the scope of judicial remedies is hotly debated, it's important to examine how the rules facilitate courts using their discretion to expand the relief parties can get at the end of a case."
Haymond's first paper, published in the Chicago Law Review, received plaudits from the highly acclaimed Judge Stephanos Bibas of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, who will give a distinguished lecture this spring as the Law School's Howard J. Trienens Visiting Judicial Scholar. Judge Bibas called Haymond's paper "a landmark."
The work of Northwestern Pritzker Law's scholars in the area of civil procedure has received many such reactions over the years, a trend that seems likely to continue well into the future.
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Original text here: https://news.law.northwestern.edu/news/northwestern-perspective-civil-procedure/
Moreys Continue to Power Northwood Futures Through Support of NU Pledge
MIDLAND, Michigan, Dec. 16 -- Northwood University issued the following news:* * *
Moreys Continue to Power Northwood Futures through Support of NU Pledge
Northwood University is pleased to announce that Michael and Dianne Morey have committed new funding to support the NU Pledge, a new scholarship initiative to help middle-income students access America's Free Enterprise University.
"Michael and Dianne Morey are pillars of the Northwood community," stated Northwood President Kent MacDonald. "Their gift reflects more than generosity. It represents our enduring friendship that's built on shared ... Show Full Article MIDLAND, Michigan, Dec. 16 -- Northwood University issued the following news: * * * Moreys Continue to Power Northwood Futures through Support of NU Pledge Northwood University is pleased to announce that Michael and Dianne Morey have committed new funding to support the NU Pledge, a new scholarship initiative to help middle-income students access America's Free Enterprise University. "Michael and Dianne Morey are pillars of the Northwood community," stated Northwood President Kent MacDonald. "Their gift reflects more than generosity. It represents our enduring friendship that's built on sharedvalues of personal responsibility, ethical leadership, and earned success. Like Northwood University, the Morey's believe in the power of free-market education to strengthen individuals, communities, and the nation. This wonderful gift helps ensure Northwood continues shaping the principled leaders America needs."
From risking everything in 1983 to build a better woodchipper, to eventually growing Bandit Industries to more than 700 employees, the Moreys' story mirrors the very qualities Northwood instills in its students: hard work, ingenuity, and a commitment to doing what's right. Their story serves as inspiration to present-day students at Northwood, some of whom have benefited from scholarships created through the sale of Michael Morey's classic automobile collection in 2023.
"One of the best things the Morey family ever did was become aligned with Northwood University," said Dianne Morey, as she and Michael Morey were inducted as Northwood University Outstanding Business Leaders in 2023. "Northwood instills personal responsibility and ethics in their students, and I think we need to go forward and continue to support The Northwood Idea, and maybe, get our country back to some common sense."
Their latest gift will provide direct support to the NU Pledge, a scholarship initiative launched earlier this year with a $2 million commitment from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation. The fund addresses a growing need for middle-income families, who often fall just outside eligibility for federal and state aid yet still face significant challenges funding a Northwood education.
A Legacy of Ethical Entrepreneurship
Michael and Dianne Morey's business journey exemplifies the power of free enterprise guided by integrity. After building the original Brush Bandit chipper in a small shop with six employees, the couple expanded Bandit Industries into a worldwide operation with more than 180 dealer locations. In 2018, after turning down offers from private buyers, they sold 100% of the company to their employees through an employee stock ownership plan -- an act widely praised as a masterclass in ethical leadership and respect for the people who helped build the business.
"The Moreys have always represented the very best of business leadership," said Justin Marshall, chief development and engagement officer for Northwood University. "Their entire story -- hard work, innovation, and steadfast devotion to their employees -- shows future Northwood graduates what ethical entrepreneurship looks like in practice."
A Deep and Continuing Impact on Northwood Students
The Moreys' philanthropy has already helped transform Northwood University. In 2023, the couple donated 34 classic automobiles -- including a 1958 Corvette -- to benefit student scholarships and support Northwood's mission to create free-enterprise leaders who drive global social and economic progress. The auction generated more than $2 million and was one of the most unique gifts in Northwood's history. A portion of campus is now home to the Michael and Dianne Morey Family Courtyard, a tribute to their generosity.
"Michael and Dianne are treasured members of the Northwood family," said Vice President of Advancement Murray Kyte. "Their lives are testaments to the power of free enterprise and the strength of ethical leadership. This new commitment to the NU Pledge will open doors for middle-income students who are eager to work hard, lead with integrity, and contribute meaningfully to their communities. We are profoundly grateful for their example and their friendship."
Supporting the Future of America's Free Enterprise University
The Moreys' gift arrives as Northwood continues the public phase of its historic $100 million 'When We Are Free' comprehensive campaign to sustain and advance Northwood's role as America's Free Enterprise University. Investments in scholarships -- especially for middle-income students -- remain a central priority.
"Supporting the NU Pledge is an investment in young people who will help carry forward the values that made the Moreys successful," Marshall noted. "This gift reinforces the foundation of responsible, free-market leadership that Northwood is known for."
To learn more about Northwood's When We Are Free campaign, visit https://campaign.northwood.edu/
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Original text here: https://www.northwood.edu/news/moreys-continue-to-power-northwood-futures-through-support-of-nu-pledge/
Generous Gift to Skidmore Expands Professional Pathways for Theater Students
SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York, Dec. 16 -- Skidmore College issued the following news:* * *
Generous gift to Skidmore expands professional pathways for theater students
By James Helicke
A major gift from gaming industry executive Frank Gibeau P'27 will enhance Skidmore Theater by creating new hands-on learning experiences, professional development opportunities, and additional pathways to careers for theater students.
The gift will establish three endowed funds to expand career-building experiences for theater students and recent graduates, strengthen teaching and production in Skidmore's Black ... Show Full Article SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York, Dec. 16 -- Skidmore College issued the following news: * * * Generous gift to Skidmore expands professional pathways for theater students By James Helicke A major gift from gaming industry executive Frank Gibeau P'27 will enhance Skidmore Theater by creating new hands-on learning experiences, professional development opportunities, and additional pathways to careers for theater students. The gift will establish three endowed funds to expand career-building experiences for theater students and recent graduates, strengthen teaching and production in Skidmore's BlackBox Theater with state-of-the-art resources, and bring professional artists to campus for residencies and networking programs.
The announcement was made during Gibeau's visit to Skidmore on Friday, Dec. 5.
Gibeau is the father of Penelope Gibeau '27, a theater major and assistant director of Skidmore Theater's recent production of "As You Like It." The endowments honor Frank Gibeau's mother, Martha "Marti" Gibeau G'27, a lifelong dance educator whose commitment to the arts influenced generations of students.
A mobile, PC, and console gaming industry veteran, Gibeau serves as president of Zynga, whose portfolio includes popular franchises such as "CSR Racing," "Words With Friends," and "Zynga Poker," as well as iconic partnerships like "Games of Thrones," "Harry Potter," and "Star Wars." Before that, he spent more than two decades at Electronic Arts.
During his campus visit, Gibeau met with students and faculty members, and shared insights on the future of the gaming industry; technology, including artificial intelligence; and creativity during a discussion and open Q&A with Skidmore students from a variety of majors.
Skidmore's Theater Department is distinguished by its preprofessional focus, combining rigorous training in acting, directing, design, dramaturgy, and technical production with a liberal arts approach that invites students to wrestle with important social issues on and off stage.
In the spirit of Skidmore's mind-and-hand tradition -- a legacy of pairing creative ideas with real-world practice -- the gift will help students translate what they learn in the classroom and in rehearsal into professional work onstage and beyond.
Preparing students for impactful careers
About one-third of Gibeau's gift will establish the Martha Sue Gibeau Endowed Student Professionalization Fund, providing dedicated support for students and recent graduates pursuing summer and post-graduation residencies, apprenticeships, internships, and self-produced projects.
Students will enjoy new opportunities to strengthen their professional portfolios and develop the skills needed to launch successful careers. Support will include mentoring and networking events that connect students with working professionals, including alumni.
Another component will establish the Martha Sue Gibeau Endowed Black Box Fund to ensure long-term, high-standard production and learning experiences in Skidmore's Black Box Theater.
The fund will support state-of-the-art technology and equipment that meets or exceeds professional industry standards, giving students hands-on experience with current tools and methods used in contemporary theater and related fields, such as film. It will also help bring in guest professionals who can offer training in evolving production practices.
Plans include upgrades to lighting, sound, and costume equipment and materials.
The remainder of the gift will create the Martha Sue Gibeau Endowed Residency and Networking Program in Theater and Performance, connecting students with professional performers, artists, and technicians through immersive residencies, workshops, and collaborative projects that build industry connections and pathways to internships, apprenticeships, and post-graduation opportunities. Planned activities include residencies with visiting artists, including alumni, and expanded internship and apprenticeship pipelines nationwide.
In addition to these endowments, Gibeau also made a separate gift to the Skidmore Fund, allowing students to benefit immediately from enhanced learning and professional opportunities.
"I grew up in a family that celebrated the arts. My mother, Marti Gibeau, spent more than 50 years as a dance teacher, shaping the lives of thousands of students. She believed that 'every dancer deserved a turn at the front of the stage,' which became the guiding philosophy of her dance studio," Gibeau said. "Today, my daughter Penelope has found that same sense of inspiration and belonging within Skidmore's vibrant theater community. This gift recognizes not only the enduring legacy of a remarkable teacher, Marti Gibeau, but further elevates the student experience by expanding exposure to working professionals, enhancing the Black Box theater with state-of-the-art tools, and strengthening the alumni network to support young artists as they begin their careers."
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"I'm honored to help ensure that future Skidmore students can discover their own creative potential through the power of live performance."
- Frank Gibeau P'27
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Advancing creativity anD professional preparation
Lisa Jackson-Schebetta, professor and chair of the Department of Theater, said the gift will deepen Skidmore Theater's distinctive approach to preprofessional training.
"This is a transformative gift for the Theater Department at Skidmore. As a preprofessional B.S. program, we are unique in the country. We understand theater as a field that combines art and business," Jackson-Schebetta said.
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"This gift will enable students to work with cutting-edge technology, gain hands-on experience with professionals, hone their artistic point of view in new ways, and build the relationships and networks required to enter the field with a competitive edge."
- Lisa Jackson-Schebetta, Professor and Chair of the Department of Theater
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President Marc C. Conner said the gift further strengthens the College's reputation for, and commitment to, innovative academic programs across disciplines, including renowned offerings in the arts.
"Frank Gibeau's extraordinary generosity will expand the kind of creative, high-impact learning that defines a Skidmore education," Conner said. "By creating even more hands-on, professional experiences and strengthening the networks that help students launch successful careers, this gift embodies the spirit of Creative Thought Matters that permeates Skidmore Theater and our entire campus. We are deeply grateful for Frank's remarkable investment in academic excellence that will prepare our students for careers and for lives of consequence."
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Original text here: https://www.skidmore.edu/news/2025/1209-theater-gift.php