Chicago-Kent College of Law Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize

Entries will be accepted through July 1, 2008, for the 2008 Chicago-Kent College of Law / Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize.

Established in 2007 at Chicago-Kent College of Law by alumnus Roy C. Palmer and his wife, Susan M. Palmer, the prize honors a work of scholarship that explores the tension between civil liberties and national security in contemporary American society. The $10,000 prize is designed to encourage and reward public debate among scholars on current issues affecting the rights of individuals and the responsibilities of governments throughout the world.

Articles or books submitted to the competition must be in draft form or have been published within the six months prior to the July 1 deadline. As a condition of accepting the award, the winner will present his or her work at Chicago-Kent. Eligible books and articles should be submitted to Tasha Kincade, assistant to Dean Harold J. Krent, at tkincade[at]kentlaw.edu or 565 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL 60661-3691.

The 2007 prize was awarded to constitutional scholars David D. Cole and Jules L. Lobel for their book Less Safe, Less Free: Why America Is Losing the War on Terror (The New Press). The award-winning book is a critical analysis of the civil liberties and geopolitical implications of the Bush administration’s “war on terror” and self-described “paradigm of prevention” with respect to terrorism.

Roy Palmer, a lawyer and real estate developer, is a 1962 honors graduate of Chicago-Kent and a member of its board of overseers. He and his wife, Susan, active in numerous civic, social and philanthropic organizations, are the recipients of the 1997 Outstanding Individual Philanthropist Award of the National Society of Fundraising Executives. In 2006, the Palmers pledged a $1 million gift to the law school earmarked to support the expansion of Chicago-Kent’s campus, located in a rapidly developing area of downtown Chicago.

Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. Chicago-Kent has a proud tradition of advancing and influencing legal thought through public programs, endowed lecture series, and faculty scholarship.