New York University

New York University

The Office of Public Affairs

Friday, Feb 29, 2008

N-305, 2007-08

Kenji Yoshino, a leading scholar in the areas of constitutional law, anti-discrimination law, and law and literature, will join the faculty of New York University School of Law this fall, where he will hold a chair in constitutional law. The Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School, Yoshino was a visiting professor at NYU last year and is again a visiting professor this semester.

A Rhodes Scholar and former law clerk for Judge Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Yoshino writes extensively about assimilation and how current anti-discrimination law fails to protect individuals against coerced conformity. Yoshino developed a theory of civil rights law that seeks not only to protect individuals from discrimination, but that also leads them to flourish. His recent award-winning book, Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights, blends memoir and legal argument to explore the intersection of personal identity, politics, and the law. Yoshino is currently writing a book on Shakespeare and the law.

Yoshino has been a member of the Yale Law School faculty since 1998, and has been honored for his distinguished teaching there. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1996, where he was articles editor of the Yale Law Journal. He earned a master of science in management studies (industrial relations) from Oxford University in 1993 and a bachelor’s degree in English literature summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1991.

“This is a great day for the Law School,” said Dean Richard Revesz. “Kenji is an impressive scholar whose highly original and insightful work has had a profound impact on both the academy and a broad popular audience. He is an extraordinarily gifted teacher and I am thrilled to have him as a colleague.”