News Release
September 2005

Moravian to Celebrate Constitution Day with Timely Lecture on Justice O’Connor

Bethlehem, Pa., September 16, 2005—Moravian College will celebrate Constitution Day on September 21, with a public lecture by Dr. Thomas Keck, author of the book, Justice O’Connor’s Constitution. The lecture will take place in Dana Lecture Hall at 7:00 pm. The public is invited and admission is free.

The lecture will focus on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the pivotal role she played in moving the Court to a more conservative position while imposing a brake on the more strident ideological positions of some of her colleagues. Keck will discuss how Justice O'Connor became the key swing vote on the Court and explain how her decision to retire portends the opportunity for significant change.

Keck is an assistant professor of Political Science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He received his B.A. in Politics from Oberlin College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Rutgers University. Keck’s research interests focus on the Supreme Court, American constitutional development, modern conservatism, and the use of legal strategies by movements for social change. He is the author of The Most Activist Supreme Court in History: The Road to Modern Judicial Conservatism, and he is currently working on a book entitled Race and Rights in a Conservative Era: The Legal Assault on Affirmative Action.

“The timeliness of the lecture could not be more compelling as President Bush has an opportunity to profoundly direct the future course of the Supreme Court, the nature of constitutional liberty and government authority into the foreseeable future, said John Reynolds, professor of political science at Moravian. “For anyone seeking insights into what the key issues are and what to expect, Dr. Keck's presentation should be of very significant interest.”

Recent federal law mandated that institutions of higher education must present an educational event on the U.S. Constitution on or about September 17 of every year. “This presents an opportunity for us to learn more about how we govern ourselves and how we can strengthen our democracy,” said Reynolds. “Dr. Keck’s lecture is therefore the inaugural lecture of what will become an annual event at Moravian.”

Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal arts college located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's sixth-oldest college. Visit the Web site at www.moravian.edu.