The Constitution in Context: Constitutional Structure and Individual Rights in Crowther v. Board of Regents

Panel members will discuss the pending United States Supreme Court case, Crowther v. Board of Regents, in which the Court will consider whether private parties may sue to enforce Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. Panel members will explore how the issue in the case, which on the surface is one of statutory interpretation, implicates critical constitutional principles. These principles include federalism, separation of powers, equal protection, and freedom of expression.

Richard Levy is a nationally and internationally known teacher and scholar in the field of American public law, including constitutional law, administrative law, and legislation. He joined the KU Law faculty in 1985, having received his law degree with honors from the University of Chicago Law School. Before joining the faculty, he served as a clerk for Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Levy is a prolific scholar with an extensive publication record in leading journals on a wide array of topics, including pioneering work applying collective action theory to federalism and leading articles on judicial review of administrative agencies. He was named the inaugural J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law in 2007, now serving as professor emeritus. Levy has also given extensive service to the state, including work on comprehensive reform of the state’s administrative procedure and child in need of care codes, as well as offering expert testimony for various legislative committees. In recognition of this service, he received the Steeples Award for Service to Kansas in 2010. Within the university, Levy has occupied various positions of leadership, including service as president of the Faculty Senate, chair of the University Judicial Board, and leadership of various successful committees and task forces charged with policy reform.

Kyle Velte joined the KU Law faculty as an Associate Professor of Law in 2018, and was promoted to Professor of Law in 2022. Velte assumed the role of Associate Dean for Faculty in August 2022. She became the Karelitz Chair in Evidence Law in 2022. At the University of Kansas School of Law, she teaches Evidence, Torts, and Sexual Orientation & the Law. Her scholarship, which examines the intersection of sexuality, gender and the law, has appeared in law journals, including the Yale Law & Policy Review, Cardozo Law Review and Connecticut Law Review. She filed or coauthored amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court cases of ​Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, United States v. Windsor, Obergefell v. Hodges and Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and has appeared in the media discussing issues of religious liberty and its connection to antidiscrimination law, Title IX and marriage equality. Prior to joining the faculty at KU Law, Velte was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, where she taught Evidence, Torts, Professional Responsibility, Conflict of Laws, and Gender, Sexuality & the Law, and an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Legal Externship Program at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, focusing on private firm and judicial placements. She also taught Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, and Sexual Orientation & the Law.  Velte holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School and a J.D., summa cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law. While at American University, she was on the editorial board of the American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, and received several significant awards, especially for her work in the area of civil rights and public interest law. Her undergraduate degree is from Hamilton College. Before entering the legal academy, Velte practiced complex commercial litigation at the Denver law firm of Reilly Pozner LLP. Prior to entering private practice, she completed two judicial clerkships with Justice Alex Martinez of the Colorado Supreme Court, and for the Honorable Roxanne Bailin of the 20th Judicial District in Boulder, Colorado. Velte is a member and past President of the Colorado LGBT Bar Association and is a member of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association. She served as a member of the Colorado Chief Justice’s Commission on Professional Development, as a member of the Judicial Performance Commission for the Second Judicial District (Denver), and as a board member for the Colorado Judicial Institute.

Amii Castle teaches Electronic Discovery and Pretrial Advocacy at KU Law. She also teaches Business Law at KU’s School of Business and Constitutional Law through KU’s political science department. Since graduating law school in 1997, Castle has served as a law clerk for three federal judges: Judge Pasco M. Bowman, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals; District Judge Carlos Murguia, District of Kansas; and Chief Magistrate Judge James P. O’Hara, District of Kansas. In addition to clerking, Castle practiced law in the private sector at both plaintiff and defense firms, specializing in commercial and class-action litigation in the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2017, Castle received the HOPE Award, KU’s student-selected award honoring an outstanding and progressive educator. In 2022, Castle was named a Woman of Impact by the Lawrence Business Journal.

Dr. Barbara Ballard is senior associate director at the Dole Institute, where she leads civic engagement and leadership programs. She has served at the University of Kansas since 1980 and previously taught in education and gender studies. A Kansas House Representative since 1992, she is the Democratic Caucus Chair and serves on key committees. She is also a former president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.