Originalism is the view that the Constitution should be interpreted in accordance with its original meaning — that is, the meaning it had at the time of its enactment.
The Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism at the University of San Diego School of Law studies all aspects of originalism by organizing conferences, hosting speakers, sponsoring fellows, operating a blog and promoting originalist scholarship. The Annual Hugh & Hazel Darling Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference, held every year in February, brings leading originalist scholars from throughout the country and the world to San Diego to discuss current originalist issues.
Leadership
Director
Lawrence A. Alexander
Warren Distinguished
Professor of Law (Emeritus)
Laurence P. Claus
Herzog Endowed Scholar and
Professor of Law
Donald A. Dripps
Warren Distinguished
Professor of Law
Michael D. Ramsey
Warren Distinguished
Professor of Law
Erin Sheley
Professor of Law
Steven D. Smith
Warren Distinguished
Professor of Law (ret.)
James Allan
Professor of Law
TC Beirne School of Law
Jack Balkin
Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment
Yale Law School
William Baude
Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Law
University of Chicago School of Law
Mitch Berman
Leon Meltzer Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy
Penn Law
Thomas Colby
Professor of Law
George Washington University School of Law
Richard Ekins
Tutorial Fellow in Law
University of Oxford
Richard Epstein
Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, Director Classical Liberal Institute
New York University
Stanley Fish
Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and Law
Florida International University
Jeffrey Goldsworthy
Faculty of Law
Monash University
Christopher Green
Associate Director, Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society
Ohio State University
Jamal Greene
Vice Dean and Professor of Law
Columbia Law School
Kurt Lash
E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law
University of Richmond
Gary Lawson
Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor of Law
University of Florida Levin College of Law
John McGinnis
George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law
Northwestern University School of Law
Bernadette Meyler
Carl and Sheila Spaeth Professor of Law
Stanford Law School
Michael Perry
Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law
Emory University School of Law
James Pfander
Owen L. Coon Professor of Law
Northwestern University School of Law
Saikrishna Prakash
James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law
University of Virginia School of Law
Robert Pushaw
James Wilson Endowed Professor of Law
Pepperdine School of Law
Stephen Sachs
Antonin Scalia Professor of Law
Harvard Law School
Michael J. Perry
Emory University School of Law
Christopher Green
Associate Director, Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society
Ohio State University
Saikrishna Prakash
University of Virginia School of Law
William Baude
University of Chicago Law School
Programs
Annual Hugh & Hazel Darling Foundation Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference
This two-day annual conference, the Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism’s keystone event, invites top legal scholars to USD to present new works concerning originalism for debate and discussion. The conference is traditionally held in February. Interested members of the public are invited to observe the conference.
Guest Lecturers and Summer Fellows
The Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism welcomes originalism scholars and summer fellows to the School of Law to present and discuss recent scholarship addressing all aspects of originalism with faculty, students and interested members of the public. For a list of past speakers, visit the center's events page. The center also sponsors larger public lectures from time to time, including two past lectures by The Honorable Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hugh & Hazel Darling Foundation Professorship
The Hugh & Hazel Darling Foundation Professorship was created for a center faculty member, to support scholarly research on Originalism topics and to sustain the center's programs. The professorship is currently held by Director of the Center for Study of Constitutional Originalism, Michael B. Rappaport.
