**This event is free and open to the public.

The Midwest Journal of Law and Policy is the annual law journal of the National Black Law Students Association, Midwest Region. The Journal is pleased to bring its 2014 Symposium to The University of Chicago Law School. 

The symposium is titled, “The Jurisprudence of Affirmative Action: Past, Present and Future.”

We are honored to have Professor Aziz Huq moderate the symposium during the lunch talk portion (12:15PM-1:30PM) in Room III. We are also delighted to have Professor Daniel Abebe moderate the symposium in the Law School Courtroom (1:30PM-4:00PM).

Our panel of distinguished speakers include:

Peter J. Hammer

Professor of Law at Wayne State University Law School

Professor Hammer directs the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.  He teaches courses in Race, Law & Social Change and Reinventing Development in Detroit. He received both his B.A. and B.S. from Gonzaga University and J.D. and Ph.D. in economics from The University of Michigan. Professor Hammer was an associate at O'Melveny & Myers and a clerk for the Hon. Alfred T. Goodwin, former chief judge of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. He spent eight years on the faculty of the University of Michigan and over twenty years engaging issues of human rights, law and development in Cambodia.

Scott Douglas Gerber

Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law

Professor Gerber teaches courses in American Legal History and Constitutional Law. He received his B.A. from the College of William and Mary and J.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He clerked for U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres of the District of Rhode Island and practiced with the Boston-based law firm Bingham McCutchen. He has been a member of the Ohio Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights since 2008.  His eight books include First Principles:  The Jurisprudence of Clarence Thomas.

Wilson R. Huhn

C. Blake McDowell, Jr., Professor and Associate Director of the Constitutional Law Center at The University of Akron School of Law

Professor Huhn teaches courses in Constitutional Law, Advanced Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence, and Commercial Paper. He received his B.A. from Yale University and J.D., cum laude, from Cornell University, where he was a member of the Cornell Law Review. Prior to joining the Akron Law faculty in 1984, Professor Huhn served as law clerk for the late Judge Leo A. Jackson in the 8th District Court of Appeals and as an associate at Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. The Akron Law faculty have recommended that Professor Huhn be elevated to the rank of Distinguished Professor as of the 2014-2015 academic year.

Ronna Greff Schneider

Professor of Law at The University of Cincinnati College of Law

Professor Schneider teaches courses in Constitutional Law, Education Law, First Amendment and Torts. She is also an affiliated faculty member of the UC's Center for Women's Studies. She received her B.A. from The University of Michigan and J.D. from Boston College. Professor Schneider has been actively involved in the Education Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools, having previously served as its Chairperson and as a member of its Executive Board. 

Katherine Barnes

Professor of Law at The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law 

Professor Barnes teaches courses in Race Law, Employment Law, Litigation, Evidence and Criminal Procedure. She received her B.A. from Swarthmore College, M.S. and Ph.D. from The University of Minnesota, and J.D. from The University of Michigan. Professor Barnes clerked for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Honorable Vaughn R. Walker, United States District Court for the Northern District of California.