The 2022 James R. Soles Lecture on the Constitution and Citizenship will be presented by Linda Greenhouse, a senior research scholar at Yale Law School and previously an award-winning correspondent for The New York Times. In her lecture, “Who Owns the Constitution?” Greenhouse will speak about recent Supreme Court decisions and the court’s new term that begins Oct. 3. The event will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19, at Gore Recital Hall in the Roselle Center for the Arts at the University of Delaware.

The Supreme Court term that concluded in June featured some of the most significant court decisions in recent memory. From June 23 to June 30, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and struck down the nationwide right to abortion, and separately, declared that law-abiding Americans have a right to carry handguns outside the home for self-defense. Cases on immigration, school prayer and the Environmental Protection Agency’s powers also were decided during this eight-day period. (The court typically saves its biggest cases for the end of term.)

The upcoming term also could prove to be momentous, with the court agreeing to hear such high-stakes cases as a pair of cases challenging race as a factor in college admissions and a case that could potentially give state legislatures more power over federal elections.

Greenhouse is widely recognized as an expert on the nation’s highest court. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism in 1998 “for her consistently illuminating coverage of the United States Supreme Court.” Before starting her second career at Yale in 2009, Greenhouse was on the staff of The New York Times for nearly 30 years. She continues to write regularly for The Times and other publications.

In her extracurricular life, Greenhouse has served since 2017 as president of the American Philosophical Society, the nation’s oldest learned society. She is its first female president since the society’s founding by Benjamin Franklin in 1743. She is a graduate of Radcliffe College (Harvard) and earned a master of studies in law degree from Yale Law School. She has published six books, most recently, Justice on the Brink: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and Twelve Months that Transformed the Supreme Court.

The James R. Soles lecture is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Register to attend by Sept. 10. A reception will follow the lecture. The Gore Recital Hall in the Roselle Center for the Arts is located at 110 Orchard Rd, Newark, Delaware, 19716. Parking and directions can be found on this website. For more information, contact poscir-info@udel.edu.

About the James R. Soles Lecture and the Soles Citizenship Endowment

This annual lecture honors the late James R. Soles, who was a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and International Relations for more than 34 years. The lecture is held around the time of Constitution Day, as it also serves to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 1787. 

Soles, who died in 2010, received the university’s Excellence in Teaching Award twice and its Excellence in Advising Award, as well as the University’s Medal of Distinction. He received many honors and recognitions in his distinguished career, but he is still best remembered for his personal dedication to teaching and to his students. 

The James R. Soles Citizenship Endowment supports a named professorship, undergraduate citizenship stipends and graduate fellowships. The first stipends were awarded more than 10 years ago, and recipients have used this support in a wide range of accomplishments. Learn more about recent recipients.