McCormick Society
The J. Byron McCormick Society of Law and Public Affairs was founded in 1978 to honor Dr. James Byron McCormick (1895–1970), former president of the University of Arizona and dean of the College of Law. His career exemplified a life of devotion to the public affairs of his community, state and nation.
The McCormick Society was created in his honor and to perpetuate his faith in the public discussions that are the lifeblood of a healthy democracy.
Each year, the Society hosts the J. Byron McCormick Lecture on Law and Public Affairs, which brings eminent national and international experts on law and public affairs to speak on the University of Arizona campus.
Recent Events
2023–24 McCormick Lecture
Dahlia Lithwick, author, contributing editor for Newsweek, and senior editor for Slate, was the guest for the McCormick Lecture on September 14, 2023.
Presented in conversation format, Lithwick's topic "The Supreme Court: What's Next?" was moderated by Eunice Lee and Toni Massaro, Professors of Law at University of Arizona.
2022–23 McCormick Lecture
Paul Butler, professor of law at Georgetown University delivered the 2023 McCormick Lecture on February 27, 2023.
Butler presented on, "Prison Abolition, and a Mule," which explored the movement to abolish prison, focusing on the consequences for racial justice and public safety.
2022–23 McCormick Lecture
Jill Lepore, affiliate professor of law and professor of American History at Harvard and staff writer at The New Yorker, delivered the 2022–23 McCormick Lecture on October 3, 2022.
The theme of Lepore's lecture was “MAKING AMENDS: Can the U.S. Constitution be Revised?”
Upcoming Events
2024–25 McCormick Lecture featuring Jamal Greene
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025
5:30–6:30 PM MST
Registration information forthcoming.
McCormick Society Membership
The McCormick Society and its annual lecture are sustained by one-time membership fees of $500 for an individual or couple membership. Under normal conditions, members have reserved seating at the in-person McCormick Lecture and are invited to attend a no-host dinner with the speaker at the Arizona Inn that is a highlight of the year.
If you would like to join and help support this 40-year-old tradition, please contact Chris Gast, Senior Director of Student Resources, Professor of Practice, and McCormick Society Secretary/Treasurer.
Recent Lectures
ACLU Director David Cole (2020)
Professor Erwin Chemerinsky (2018)
New York Times Supreme Court correspondent Adam Liptak (2018)
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan (2016)
Speakers
| 2024–25 | Jamal Greene, Professor of Law, Columbia Law, and Author |
| 2023–24 | Dahlia Lithwick, Author, Contributing Editor, Newsweek, and Senior Editor, Slate |
| 2022–23 | Paul Butler, Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Center |
| 2022–23 | Jill Lepore, Professor of American History and Affiliate Professor of Law, Harvard University |
| 2020–21 | David Cole, National Legal Director, ACLU, and Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Center |
| 2018–19 | Jane Mayer, staff writer, The New Yorker (re-scheduled for Spring 2021) |
| 2017–18 | Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, University of California, Berkeley School of Law |
| 2016–17 | Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Correspondent, The New York Times |
| 2015–16 | Elena Kagan, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
| 2014–15 | Barney Frank, U.S. House of Representatives, Massachusetts (1981–2013) |
| 2013–14 | Olympia Snowe, U.S. Senator, Maine (1995–2013) |
| 2012–13 | Morris Dees, Southern Poverty Law Center |
| 2011–12 | Norman J. Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research |
| 2010–11 | Neal Katyal, Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Center |
| 2009–10 | Joe Nocera, Writer for The New York Times |
| 2008–09 | George Packer, Writer for The New Yorker, and Author |
| 2007–08 | Richard J. Goldstone, Justice, Constitutional Court of South Africa (Retired) |
| 2006–07 | Frederick Schauer, Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment, Harvard Kennedy School |
| 2005–06 | John L. McGoldrick, Executive Vice President and General Counsel Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company |
| 2004–05 | Samantha Power, Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School |
| 2003–04 | David Brooks, Writer for the New York Times, Political Analyst and Author |
| 2002–03 | Linda Greenhouse, Supreme Court Correspondent, The New York Times |
| 2001–02 | Stephen L. Carter, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Yale Law School |
| 2000–01 | George Mitchell, Chairman, International Crisis Group, Former U.S. Senator, Maine |
| 1999–00 | Alan K. Simpson, Director, Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School, and Former U.S. Senator, Wyoming |
| 1998–99 | Derek C. Bok, National Chair, Common Cause, and Former President, Harvard University |
| 1997–98 | Richard A. Posner, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit |
| 1996–97 | Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr., Trustee Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Stanley Sporkin, Judge, U.S. District Court (D.D.C.) |
| 1995–96 | Warren B. Rudman, Former U.S. Senator, New Hampshire |
| 1994–95 | Kathleen M. Sullivan, Professor of Law, Stanford Law School |
| 1993–94 | Jack B. Weinstein, Judge, U.S. District Court (E.D. New York) |
| 1992–93 | Susan Westerberg Prager, Dean, UCLA School of Law |
| 1991–92 | John C. Coffee, Jr. Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law, Columbia University School of Law |
| 1990–91 | Antonin Scalia, Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
| 1988–89 | Anthony Kennedy, Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
| 1987–88 | Lester Thurow, Professor of Economics, M.I.T. |
| 1986–87 | Jesse Choper, Dean University of California, Berkeley School of Law |
| 1985–86 | Shirley Hufstedler, Former Secretary of Education |
| 1984–85 | Alan Furth, President, Southern Pacific Railroad |
| 1983–84 | Rex Lee, Former U.S. Solicitor General |
| 1982–83 | Griffin Bell, Former U.S. Attorney General |
| 1981–82 | Edward D. Re, Judge, U.S. Court of Claims |
| 1980–81 | William H. Rehnquist, Justice, U.S. Supreme Court |
| 1979–80 | Joseph T. Sneed, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit |