William E. Thurman, President
The English-Speaking Union
of the United States
P.O. Box 548
Pinehurst, North Carolina 28370-0548 |
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NOTED CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLAR TO ADDRESS ESU REGIONAL MEETING IN PINEHURST
by Dr. Russell G. McAllister
After a 12-year hiatus, two new appointees have joined the U.S. Supreme Court, overcoming intense opposition from Democrat Senate elders.
Both supporters and opponents of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito have claimed that their appointments may alter the Court’s decisions in profound ways.
How much of this is exaggeration, and how much is likely to be true? To help with a reasoned assessment, Prof. A.E. Dick Howard, one of the nation’s leading constitutional scholars, will speak on “The Changing Face of the Supreme Court” at the English-Speaking Union’s regional meeting on April 8.
The Sandhills ESU chapter, named for one of the original ESU supporters, Walter Hines Page, is serving as host for the ESU Regional Meeting on April 7-8, with Howard’s address serving as a timely culmination for the ESU activities.
Prof. Howard, a Virginia native, currently serves as the White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Howard graduated from the University of Richmond, was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and earned his law degree from U.Va. After he graduated from law school, he served as clerk to the famed Supreme Court justice, Hugo Black. Long interested in constitutional law, Prof. Howard was executive director of the commission that wrote his native state’s new constitution, and he directed the successful referendum campaign for ratification. He has worked with groups and commissions involved in creation of new constitutions for Brazil, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Russia, and South Africa. Ten years ago, the Union of Czech Lawyers, citing Prof. Howard’s “promotion of the idea of a civil society in Central Europe,” awarded him their Randa Medal (the first time this honor was conferred upon anyone except a Czech citizen).
Prof. Howard has served as president of the Virginia Academy of Laureates, and he was awarded the University of Virginia’s coveted Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching. Five universities have conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. In the fall of 2001, he was the first Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Residence at Rhodes House, Oxford.
Author of a number of books, articles, and monographs, Howard’s most recent books include Democracy’s Dawn and Constitution-making in Eastern Europe. Throughout his academic career, he has maintained activities outside the classroom, including arguing cases before state and federal courts (including the U.S. Supreme Court) and serving as a regular guest/consultant on television news programs (such as the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour).
In an interview with the University of Richmond magazine, Howard commented, “Constitutions … really reflect a nation’s aspirations, what a people sees itself as being. Virginia’s original constitution is full of the language of citizenship and the natural rights of mankind, in addition to the principles of government. When I talk with my friends in Eastern Europe, I try to carry some of these ideas to them.”
In addition to his career as a master teacher, advisor to governments all over the world, and renowned constitutional scholar, Prof. Howard will bring to the ESU his abiding interest in the U.S. Supreme Court and its evolution over the past 200 years with his timely discussion on “The Changing Face of the Supreme Court.”
| WALTER HINES PAGE SCHOLAR FROM SOUTH AMERICA VISITS SANDHILLS
For the first time ever The Sandhills Branch and its Board of Directors hosted a Walter Hines Page Scholar from South America. The program sponsors foreign travel by local and foreign educators to observe teaching techniques in
different countries.
Our guest was Marta Macias of Buenos Aires, Argentina who arrived on February 16 for a three day stay in Moore County. Ms. Macias, who teaches at the secondary school level, is the head of the English program at the Norbridge School, an independent co-educational day school located in Buenos Aires.
She observed classes and meet with the faculty at the O’Neal School, Pinecrest High School and Sandhills Community College.
The Board escorted Ms. Macias to meetings here in the Sandhills and held an informal reception in her honor during her stay with us. |
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