Dr. Bradford Wilson, Princeton University’s executive director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, will spend one year at UVU's Center for Constitutional Studies as its first James Wilson Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Civic Thought.
OREM, UTAH — Utah Valley University (UVU) announced today that Dr. Bradford Wilson, Princeton University’s executive director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, will spend one year at Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies as its first James Wilson Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Civic Thought. He will start on September 1, 2024.
In this role, Wilson will teach undergraduate courses in American constitutional and political thought and contribute to the center’s scholarly work, including the annual First Amendment Conference and its preparations to play a leading role in the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
He will also teach a one-week course at Oxford University’s Pembroke College as part of UVU’s new master’s degree program in constitutional government, civics, and law.
UVU partners with researchers at Pembroke College on the Quill Project, a groundbreaking research tool that recreates the original context of historic negotiated texts — specifically, constitutions, treaties, and legislation.
“From the moment I learned of UVU’s Center for Constitutional Studies, I was deeply impressed by its excellent leadership, rigorous curriculum, research on constitutionalism, and commitment to expanding civics education at both the higher ed and K-12 levels,” said Wilson. “I am looking forward to being a part of this critical program, where the promotion of civil and nonpartisan constitutional literacy will guide students and teachers alike toward understanding the foundations of our democracy.”
As one of the country’s foremost authorities on American constitutional law and political thought, Wilson brings a wealth of expertise to the center. He is the author of Enforcing the Fourth Amendment: A Jurisprudential History, as well as a coeditor of several major works on American politics and government, including two-volume editions with Cambridge University Press of The Political Writings of Alexander Hamilton and The Political Writings of George Washington. With Carson Holloway, Wilson serves as Cambridge's Series Editor of The Political Writings of American Statesmen.
In addition to his academic work, he was recently appointed by President Joe Biden to the Board of Trustees of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, a federal agency that supports the teaching of American constitutionalism in secondary schools.
“Brad Wilson is recognized as one the most knowledgeable and well-respected academics in the field of constitutional studies, and we are honored to announce him as our very first distinguished visiting scholar,” said Dr. Matthew Brogdon, senior director of the Center for Constitutional Studies. “The Center for Constitutional Studies will derive enormous benefit from Brad’s deep legal scholarship and academic leadership, and our students will have the privilege of being taught by one of the truly great minds in political institutions, federalism, and civil society.”
