Although much has been written about U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving higher education, little has been said about the foundational case law and litigation patterns emerging from the lower courts. As universities become increasingly legislated, regulated, and litigious, campuses have become testing grounds for a host of constitutional challenges. From faculty and student free speech to race- or religion-based admissions policies, Suing Alma Mater describes the key issues at play in higher education law. Eminent legal scholar Michael A. Olivas considers higher education litigation in the latter half of the twentieth century and the rise of "purposive organizations," like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Alliance Defense Fund (now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom), that exist to advance litigation. He reviews more than 120 college cases brought before the Supreme Court in the past fifty years and then discusses six key cases in depth. Suing Alma Mater provides a clear-eyed perspective on the legal issues facing higher education today.

Prizes

Winner of Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law 2015 (United States)

[Olivas's] treatment of this complex subject is well done and easy to follow. Choice Olivas resoundingly justifies why more scholars should recognize the political and sociological factors influencing courts today and vice versa. This book successfully chronicles some of the constitutional hallmarks within higher education during the past half century and justifies a broader examination among legal scholars for the future, as issues related to intellectual property, commercialization in athletics, and others predictably will reach this nation's highest court. -- Joy Blanchard Review of Higher Education This book successfully chronicles some of the constitutional hallmarks within higher education during the past half century and justifies a broader examination among legal scholars for the future. -- Joy Blanchard Review of Higher Education This volume is an excellent introduction to areas of discrimination law that affect postsecondary education. It would be useful for law collections with both extensive and limited holdings in education or discrimination law and those that support graduate programs in educational administration. -- Kathleen A. McLeod Law Library Journal

Michael A. Olivas is the William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law at the University of Houston Law Center and director of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance.