Category: News

CSLD Students Participate in Oxford University’s Quill Project

Led by CSLD Postdoctoral Fellow Signe Janoska-Bedi, CSLD-affiliated law students Brian Deisher and Bradley Morelli spent two weeks this summer as participants in Oxford University’s Quill Project, joining roughly fifty students from partner universities at Pembroke College for Constitutional Foundations, the Project’s 2026 summer program. The program marked the 250th year of the American Founding …

New Fall Reading Groups!

This fall semester, the CSLD is pleased to sponsor five reading groups for UW–Madison students and campus community members.

Applications for 2026-27 CSLD Student Fellowships Now Open!

Applications are now open for the Madison and the Newman student fellowships. These academic year appointments allow undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to become more deeply involved in the work of the CSLD and to build community with other students and network with faculty and outside scholars. Applications close September 11th. For more information and …

Announcing our 2026 Undergraduate Essay Contest Winners!

The CSLD is pleased to announce the 2026 winners of the Undergraduate Essay Competition. First place goes to Arielle Weston, for Tariffs and the Separation of Powers: Reclaiming Congress’s Constitutional Authority. Second place (for the second year in a row!) goes to Hunter Vierck, for The Perils of Personalized Economic Warfare: A Statutory Misalignment of Taxation, Accountability, …

Announcing Donald Hempson as the CSLD’s New Assistant Director

The Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy is pleased to welcome new Assistant Director Donald Hempson.  Hempson brings decades of higher education leadership, at both Virginia Tech and the Ohio State University, where he led the development and implementation of strategic plans for global engagement, built innovative institutional partnerships and advanced new research initiatives. …

Submissions now open for the 2026 Undergraduate Essay Competition!

We are pleased to announce the 9th Annual Undergraduate Essay Competition, with scholarship prizes ranging from $1,000-$2,500. Details and deadlines can be found here.

Announcing the CSPT “Order & Influence” Lecture Series

The Catholic Social and Political Thought Initiative is pleased to announce its spring “Order and Influence” lecture series, which explores the influence of leading Catholic religious orders and lay associations on aspects of broader cultural and political life. Campus lectures are open to all members of the campus community and the general public. (Final field trip …

Join us 2/4 at 6pm to hear Christopher Scalia address “How Conservatives Can Engage with Culture”

New CSLD-sponsored classes for Spring 2026: Foundations of Liberal Democracy & Catholic Legal Thought

The CSLD is pleased to announce two new classes for the Spring 2026 semester, open to both undergraduates and law students, offered in cooperation with the Department of Legal Studies and the UW Law School. Law 940-011/Legal Studies 600-006 Foundations of Liberal Democracy is a three-credit course open to both undergraduate and law students (P/F …

Prof. Daniel Mark (Villanova) discusses his new book, The Nature of Law

Join us on Thursday, October 23rd at noon in Room 7200 of the UW Law School for a book talk by Daniel Mark (Villanova), who will discuss the connection between legal duties and moral obligations.Lunch provided. Co-sponsored by the Tommy G. Thompson Center for public leadership.