Prof. David Rabban of the University of Texas School of Law will be delivering the Ihlenfeld Lecture February 26 at noon at the WVU College of Law. Professor Rabban's lecture, which he is delivering as a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, is entitled The First Amendment Right of Academic Freedom. His lecture will discuss the emergence and development of academic freedom as a First Amendment right, as well as recent events that have challenged prevailing interpretations of this right. Prior to joining Texas Law, Prof. Rabban served as counsel to the American Association of University Professors for several years, later serving as its general counsel and as chair of its committee on academic freedom and tenure. His teaching and research focus on free speech, academic freedom, higher education and the law, and American legal history. He was a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation in 2016 and of the Program in Law and Public Affairs at Princeton University in 2016-17.

RSVP's are preferred by February 20, 2026.