An
expert in constitutional law will present the history and impact of debates
surrounding Title IX in a free
lecture at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Professor
John Blakeman of the Political Science Department
will talk about “The Politics and Law of Title IX” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 29, as part of the year-long
“Access to Opportunity” lecture series at UW-Stevens Point. Held in the Laird
Room at the Dreyfus University Center on campus, the lecture is open to the
public.
The series marks UW-Stevens Point’s hosting of the NCAA
Division III Women’s Basketball Final Four in March 2014, and centers on the
“access to opportunity” Title IX gave young women playing scholastic
sports.
Blakeman will discuss the history of the Title IX statute,
the political debate in Congress when it passed and subsequent debates in
Congress over its application to university and school athletic programs.
“I’ll also cover how the law has been interpreted by courts and some of the
major legal disputes that have arisen, and the overall impact of the law on
higher education and American society in general,” he said.
Blakeman has been at UW-Stevens Point since 2003. He teaches
Constitutional Law I: Federalism and Separation of Powers; Constitutional Law
II: Civil Rights and Liberties; Law and Society; Religion and Politics;
European Politics; Politics of the EU. His most recent book, “The U.S.
Supreme Court and the New Federalism: From the Rehnquist to the Roberts Court,” was published in
2012. A Kentucky native, he is a former rugby player who has coached and refereed
the game in the United States and England.