Jeffrey Rosen

Northwest Missouri State University will host Jeffrey Rosen, a legal scholar and law professor, for the University's Distinguished Lecture Series and the annual Lemon Lecture next month.

The lecture begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 9, in the J.W. Jones Student Union Boardroom. It is free and open to the public.

Rosen will discuss his latest book, "The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America," followed by a question-and-answer session.

"It's an opportunity to hear from one of the leading constitutional scholars in the United States about these constitutional struggles and debates that have been with us since the founding of the United States and structure a lot of our political discourse and debates," Daniel Biegelson, the series director and a senior instructor of English, said. "It's important for us to be engaged citizens, and this is an opportunity for people to learn a lot about these important ideas."

Rosen is the president and CEO emeritus of the National Constitution Center, a professor of law at George Washington University Law School and the author of nine books. He holds degrees from Harvard, Oxford and Yale Law School. Rosen has been named a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and elected to the American Philosophical Society.

His other books include "Conversations with RBG: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law" (2019), "The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America" (2007), "The Most Democratic Branch: How the Courts Serve America" (2006), "The Naked Crowd: Freedom and Security in an Anxious Age" (2004) and "The Unwanted Gaze: The Destruction of Privacy in America" (2000).

Rosen's essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine and on National Public Radio. He has also published acclaimed biographies of Louis D. Brandeis and William Howard Taft.

About the Lemon Lecture

The annual Lemon Lecture seeks to enhance the academic environment through individual discipline and interdisciplinary topics. Supported by the Office of the Provost and the Student Activities Council, the series offers the Northwest campus and surrounding communities opportunities to hear from extraordinary individuals from throughout the globe. Scholars, world travelers and leaders in their fields visit the Northwest campus to share their wisdom, insight and experiences.

"It's actually really dynamic - an exciting opportunity for the campus culture - because it focuses our attention on a particular idea," Biegelson said. "We all take our individual classes and we teach our classes, but for a brief moment the conversation on campus becomes focused on whatever the lecture is about. So, if people attend, they can partake in that conversation. It's a way of creating a shared community around ideas."

Funding support for the Lemon Lecture series is provided through the generosity of Beatrice E. Hanson, who graduated from Northwest in 1936. The program is named in honor of James H. Lemon, her grandfather and a founder of the Fifth District Normal School, which is now Northwest Missouri State University.