Annapolis-area Alumni Reception and Lecture at St. John's College

Please join the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and St. John’s College for our annual Annapolis-area Alumni Reception and special evening lecture at St. John's College Tuesday, September 16, 2026.

5:30 p.m. | Alumni Reception at Hodson Boathouse on College Creek

7:30 p.m. | Evening Lecture: featuring Professor Guha Krishnamurthi, in McDowell Great Hall

Held during the week of Constitution Day, this special evening continues the collaboration between Maryland Carey Law and St. John’s College and celebrates the profound connection between liberal education and legal education. Maryland Carey Law and St. John’s College also share a deep commitment to educational excellence that embraces immersive learning experiences and sparks intellectual curiosity, thoughtful debate, critical thinking, and creative problem solving.

The evening begins with Maryland Carey Law’s Annapolis-area Alumni Reception, held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. at Hodson Boathouse, which overlooks College Creek on the St. John’s College Campus.

Immediately following the alumni reception, we're very excited to present the evening lecture, featuring Professor Guha Krishnamurthi.

Lecture Details:

Affirmative Action and Antidiscrimination Law Under the Roberts Court

Recently, courtesy of the Supreme Court, there has been a sea change in antidiscrimination law and the law related to efforts to promote diversity in our various institutions. After the Civil Rights movement, the government and other institutions in our polity employed various efforts to counter discrimination, remediate oppression, and promote diversity going forward. These included the Voting Rights Act, affirmative action in education, scholarships for minorities, and focused recruitment in hiring, among other things. But all of these efforts are in legal peril due to decisions of the Roberts Court. In this talk, Professor Krishnamurthi will discuss the development of affirmative action and antidiscrimination law over the last 50 years, culminating in a present moment of flux and indeed uncertainty for any efforts to promote diversity and rectify historic oppression. He will then set forth ways forward that both preserve our collective senses of equality, fairness, and individual opportunity and further our commitments to promoting diversity and rectifying discrimination.

Professor Krishnamurthi's research interests are in criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, and antidiscrimination law. Prior to academia, he worked as a litigator at law firms in the Southern California area. He clerked for the Hon. Goodwin H. Liu of the California Supreme Court, the Hon. Andrea R. Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the Hon. Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He earned his JD, with high honors, from the University of Texas School of Law; his BS, with high distinction, in Mathematics from the University of Michigan; his MS in Mathematics from the University of Michigan; and his MA in Philosophy from the University of Texas.

Professor Krishnamuthi's recent publications include (find more and links to papers on his Maryland Carey Law faculty webpage):

• The Many Ways of Constitutional Discourse, 104 Texas Law Review Online 240 (2026).
• The Virtues of Optional Legislation, 56 Arizona State Law Journal 1635 (2025) (with Jacob Bronsther).

Support for this collaborative evening has been generously provided by the Alan D. and Brenda Hornstein Endowment at Maryland Carey Law. An expert in contracts, evidence, and jurisprudence, the late Professor Alan D. Hornstein taught 18 different courses at Maryland Carey Law and left a lasting impression on countless students in his 32 years of teaching. Professor Hornstein retired in 2004 but stayed highly connected with the law school as professor emeritus and a member of the Board of Visitors from 2007 to 2018. The Alan D. and Brenda Hornstein Endowment at Maryland Carey Law was established in 2009 to promote the understanding of the relationship between law and liberal education, and support collaboration between St. John's College and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

Parking: Attendees can park either in the Mellon Hall Parking Lot (located off St. John’s Street) or the Iglehart Gym Parking Lot (off King George Street), both of which will have a short 3-5 minute walk across campus to the Hodson Boathouse and McDowell Great Hall. There is also street parking on King George Street and on College Avenue. Please note that the walk from the Mellon Hall Parking Lot to the Hodson Boathouse will involve walking across the campus lawn (grass). For those with mobility issues, St. John’s College will arrange a golf cart to help shuttle guests across campus.

Campus Information: St. John’s College is located at 60 College Avenue in Downtown Annapolis. https://www.sjc.edu/about/campuses/annapolis

Recommended Dress Code: Business Casual

Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be provided

DISCLAIMER: Your photograph and/or video recording may be taken at this event and used for University of Maryland Baltimore marketing, program development, and fundraising/stewardship purposes. If you would prefer to not have your photograph used for marketing purposes, please email alumni@law.umaryland.edu stating your preference to not be photographed.