Back to Results
Cover image of Suing Alma Mater
Cover image of Suing Alma Mater
Share this Title:

Suing Alma Mater

Higher Education and the Courts

Michael A. Olivas

Publication Date
Binding Type

This careful reading of six legal cases in American higher education is an essential primer for understanding contemporary litigation.

Winner of the Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law of the Education Law Association

Although much has been written about U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving higher education, little has been said about the foundational case law and litigation patterns emerging from the lower courts. As universities become increasingly legislated, regulated, and litigious, campuses have become testing grounds for a host of constitutional...

This careful reading of six legal cases in American higher education is an essential primer for understanding contemporary litigation.

Winner of the Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law of the Education Law Association

Although much has been written about U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving higher education, little has been said about the foundational case law and litigation patterns emerging from the lower courts. As universities become increasingly legislated, regulated, and litigious, campuses have become testing grounds for a host of constitutional challenges. From faculty and student free speech to race- or religion-based admissions policies, Suing Alma Mater describes the key issues at play in higher education law.

Eminent legal scholar Michael A. Olivas considers higher education litigation in the latter half of the twentieth century and the rise of "purposive organizations," like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Alliance Defense Fund (now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom), that exist to advance litigation. He reviews more than 120 college cases brought before the Supreme Court in the past fifty years and then discusses six key cases in depth. Suing Alma Mater provides a clear-eyed perspective on the legal issues facing higher education today.

Reviews

Reviews

[Olivas's] treatment of this complex subject is well done and easy to follow.

Olivas resoundingly justifies why more scholars should recognize the political and sociological factors influencing courts today and vice versa. This book successfully chronicles some of the constitutional hallmarks within higher education during the past half century and justifies a broader examination among legal scholars for the future, as issues related to intellectual property, commercialization in athletics, and others predictably will reach this nation's highest court.

This book successfully chronicles some of the constitutional hallmarks within higher education during the past half century and justifies a broader examination among legal scholars for the future.

This volume is an excellent introduction to areas of discrimination law that affect postsecondary education. It would be useful for law collections with both extensive and limited holdings in education or discrimination law and those that support graduate programs in educational administration.

This is an extremely significant book. It is clearly written and reflects Olivas’s extensive experience and broad expertise, especially his uncommonly perceptive view of an increasingly litigious campus environment.

About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
240
ISBN
9781421409238
Table of Contents

Preface
Part I
1. A Primer on Higher Education Law in the United States
2. A Brief History of Higher Education Litigation in the United States Supreme Court
3. Making It to the Supreme Court and the Rise

Preface
Part I
1. A Primer on Higher Education Law in the United States
2. A Brief History of Higher Education Litigation in the United States Supreme Court
3. Making It to the Supreme Court and the Rise of Purposive Organizations
Part II
4. The Traditional Model of Higher Education in the Litigation Spotlight: United States v. Fordice
5. Hopwood v. Texas: "A University May Properly Favor One Applicant Over Another Because of His Ability to Play the Cello, Make a Downfield Tackle, or Understand Chaos Theory"
6. Abrams v. Baylor College of Medicine: Jews Need Not Apply
7. Axson-Flynn v. Johnson: "Talk to Some Other Mormon Girls Who Are GoodMormons, Who Don't Have a Problem with This"
8. Location, Location, Location: Richards v. League of United Latin AmericanCitizens and the Cartography of Colleges
9. Clark v. Claremont University Center: "I Mean, Us White People HaveRights, Too"
9. The Developing Law of Faculty Discontent: The Garcetti Effect
Conclusion: My Friends, Special Programs, and Pipelines
Appendix A: Annual Reviews of Higher Education Law
Appendix B: United States v. Fordice, 505 U.S. 717 (1992) Case History
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Author Bio
Michael A. Olivas
Featured Contributor

Michael A. Olivas

Michael A. Olivas is the William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law at the University of Houston Law Center and director of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance.