ANN ARBOR—Richard O. Lempert, the Eric Stein Distinguished University Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of Michigan, will address “Defending Affirmative Action” in his Distinguished University Professor Lecture at 4 p.m. Wednesday (April 10) in the Founders Room of the Alumni Center.

Lempert, professor of law and of sociology and faculty associate in the Institute for Social Research‘s Survey Research Center, has been a member of the U-M faculty since 1968. A pioneer in the field of law and society studies, he applies social scientific knowledge and methods to legal issues, including studies of juries, race and affirmative action, and the law of evidence. Currently he directs the University’s Life Sciences, Values and Society Program.

Lempert is a senior fellow of the U-M Society of Fellows and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, a visiting fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and has received the Law and Society Association‘s Kalven Prize for scholarly achievement.

The first Distinguished University Professorships   [link requires Acrobat or other .PDF file reader]   were created in 1947 to provide recipients maximum freedom to pursue scholarly and teaching efforts to contribute to the University and the nation. Earl Lewis, vice provost and dean of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, said, “Distinguished University Professors exemplify the values, strengths and diversity of the University, and are scholars of great depth and breadth. They are outstanding teachers and mentors, and are generous in their service to their disciplines, to their schools and colleges, and to the University.”

Each Distinguished University Professorship is named for a person of distinction in the same general field as the recipient, preferably a person associated with the U-M.

Richard O. LempertlawSociety of FellowsDistinguished University Professorships