Constitution Day Lecture by Daniel Farber

Law professor Daniel Farber will give a Constitution Day lecture, "Lincoln's Constitutional Legacy: How Lincoln Finished the Work of the Founding Fathers and Laid the Foundations for Modern America," at 4 p.m., Thursday, September 18, in Ferris Lounge, Seymour Union, Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Farber's lecture celebrates Constitution Day, established by Congress to commemorate the date, Sept. 17, 1787, that the United States Constitution was signed by delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

Farber is Sho Sato Professor of Law, Director of the Environmental Law Program, and Chair of the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California - Berkeley. A pioneer in the emerging field of disaster law, which examines legal issues related to society's ability to deal effectively with the aftermath of catastrophes and the risk of future disasters, Farber co-authored the 2006 book "Disasters and the Law: Katrina and Beyond."

Farber's other publications include books "Beyond All Reason," "Desperately Seeking Certainty," "Eco-Pragmatism: Making Sensible Environmental Decisions in an Uncertain World," and "The First Amendment and Environment Law in a Nutshell," and numerous articles on constitutional law, environmental law, contracts, jurisprudence and legislation.

Farber received a B.A. in philosophy with high honors in 1971 and an M.A. in sociology in 1972, both from the University of Illinois. In 1975 he earned his J.D. from the University of Illinois, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, editor in chief of the University of Illinois Law Review, a Harno Scholar and class valedictorian.

After graduating from law school, Farber clerked for Judge Philip W. Tone of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and for Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. He then practiced law with Sidley & Austin before joining the faculty of the University of Illinois Law School.

In 1981 Farber joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota Law School, where he became the first Henry J. Fletcher Professor of Law in 1987 and was named McKnight Presidential Professor of Public Law in 2000. He also has held visiting faculty positions at Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School and the University of Chicago Law School.

The lecture is sponsored by the Office of the President, Office of the Dean of the College, the Pre-Law Program, and the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College.

Knox College's Pre-Law Program features advising, preparation for the Law School Admission Test and a two-course sequence in Constitutional Law taught by Lane Sunderland, Chancie Ferris Booth Professor of Political Science and a Supreme Court Fellow.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 48 states and 42 nations. Knox's 'Old Main' is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.