The Drake University Constitutional Law Center is pleased to announce Stephen Gardbaum as the 2020 Constitution Day speaker. Gardbaum will present “The Counter-Playbook:  Resisting the Populist Assault on Separation of Powers.” The Constitution Day Lecture is scheduled for Sept. 17, 2020, at 3 p.m. and will be delivered virtually.

Gardbaum holds the Stephen Yeazell Endowed Chair in Law at UCLA School of Law. An internationally recognized constitutional scholar, his research focuses on comparative constitutional law, federalism, and the foundations of liberal legal and political theory. His numerous articles on constitutional law have appeared, among other places, in the Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, International Journal of Constitutional Law, and American Journal of Comparative Law. His widely-reviewed book The New Commonwealth Model of Constitutionalism: Theory and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2013) explores a novel approach to protecting rights in democracy. His scholarship has been cited by the U.S. and Canadian Supreme Courts.

Gardbaum received a B.A. with first class honors from Oxford University, an M.Sc. from London University, a Ph.D. in political theory from Columbia University, and a J.D. from Yale University.

The Drake University Constitution Day Lecture is held annually to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, and to recognize all U.S. citizens.

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— Theresa Howard, Law School