MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Education law expert Kimberly Jenkins Robinson will address the right to education at West Virginia University’s annual observance of Constitution Day on September 17 at noon.
Robinson’s lecture, "A Federal Right to Education: Foundational Questions for the Future of Our Nation," will be webcast for the WVU community and general public.
Robinson teaches at the University of Virginia, where she is the Merrill Professor of Law, a professor of Education in the Curry School of Education, and professor of Law, Education and Public Policy in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.
In 2019, New York University Press published Robinson’s book, “A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy,” in which leading constitutional and education law scholars consider how the United States can provide equal educational opportunity for its children.
WVU Law professor Joshua Weishart authored the book’s chapter on “Protecting a Federal Right to Educational Equality and Adequacy.”
Former West Virginia senator Robert Byrd (1917-2010) sponsored the legislation that established a national Constitution Day in 2004. The law requires that all publicly funded educational institutions provide special programming on or near that day every year. WVU Law’s annual Constitution Day program fulfills that requirement for West Virginia University.
Robinson’s discussion on the right to education is this year’s Charles L. Ihlenfeld Lecture on Public Policy and Ethics at WVU Law. Ihlenfeld (1908-89) was prominent lawyer for 56 years and a former mayor of Wheeling, West Virginia. The annual Ihlenfeld Lecture, established in 1990, honors a life and career marked by significant contributions to the practice of law, to the legal profession, and to civic affairs.
-WVU-
CB/09/14/20
