Taking place on April 4 and 5, the Ashland University Ashbrook Center hosted lectures on Law and Education. It took place in the Ronk Lecture Hall in the Dwight Schar College and Education Building.  

This Law and Education Conference started with the opening keynote speaker, Lee Strang. He is the Executive Director of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at Ohio State University. Strang talked about, “The Place of Law in University Level Citizenship Education.” 

On Saturday, the lecture was split up into three panels, with three guest speakers on each panel.  

The first panel was based on parental rights Speaker Melissa Moschella from Notre Dame University spoke on, “Parental Rights from the Common Law Tradition to Skirmetti and Mahmoud: Foundations and Applications.” 

Speakers such as David Upham from St. Thomas University Miami and Albert Chang from the University of Arkansas also attended. They spoke on topics dealing with parental rights with the 14th amendment, along with history of homeschooled and private-school individuals.  

The second panel was dealing with religious liberty.  

Ashland University professor Joe Griffiths spoke on the topic of, “Parental Rights for Christians – or Everyone?” along with speakers from Purdue University Fort Wayne, Ben Slomski, speaking on, “Who Protects Religious Liberty.” and Catherine Kuiper from Hillsdale College speaking on, “Religion as Part of Public Life and Education.” 

After the lunch break, the third and final panel spoke to the attendants on republicanism and education. Nadya Williams from Indiana University Bloomington spoke on, “Thucydides Weighs in: Education as a Public Good in a Democracy.” 

The other two speakers were from Ashland University, Jeff Sikkenga, and Adam Carrington. They talked about, “Is the Supreme Court the Final Word?” and “Education Justices: SCOTUS as Dialogic Instructor.” 

The conference ended with closing keynote speaker Jim Stoner. He comes from Louisiana State University, and he talked about, “Can Law Govern Education?” 

The Ashbrook Center hosted an educational conference with knowledgeable panelists. Find the website, Ashbrook.org, to stay up to date with future events.