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Kenneth L. Marcus

Kenneth L. Marcus

Kenneth L. Marcus is Founder and Chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, and author of The Definition of Anti-Semitism (Oxford University Press: 2015) and Jewish Identity and Civil Rights in America (Cambridge University Press: 2010).  On the occasion of his recent transition from public service, the Jewish News Syndicate commented that, “In two short years, Marcus did as much, if not more, to fight anti-Semitism on college campuses as anyone in government has ever done.”

Marcus founded the Brandeis Center in 2011 to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism in American higher education.  At that time, the Jewish Daily Forward described him as one of “the new faces of Jewish power,” predicting that “if Marcus has any say in it, we may witness a new era of Jewish advocacy.”

During his public service career, Marcus has also served as Staff Director at the United States Commission on Civil Rights and was delegated the authority of Assistant U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.  Shortly before his departure from the Civil Rights Commission, the Wall Street Journal observed that “the Commission has rarely been better managed,” and that it “deserves a medal for good governance.” Marcus previously held the Lillie and Nathan Ackerman Chair in Equality and Justice in America at the City University of New York’s Bernard M. Baruch College School of Public Affairs.

Before entering public service, Mr. Marcus was a litigation partner in two major law firms, where he conducted complex commercial and constitutional litigation. He has published widely in academic journals as well as in more popular venues such as Newsweek, USA Today, Politico, The Hill, The Jerusalem Post, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, and The Christian Science Monitor.  Mr. Marcus is a graduate of Williams College, magna cum laude, and the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

All stories by: Kenneth L. Marcus

Must we combat anti-Semitism?

I was asked the question most recently last week in the well-appointed downtown offices of a major Jewish organization. But I have heard it surprisingly often since I founded the Louis D. Brandeis Center to combat campus anti-Semitism: “Do you…

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Free speech in higher education

Nothing is more clichéd in higher education than the selective invocation of freedom of speech. When students or professors challenge campus orthodoxies, administrators find a way to silence them. But when speakers take positions that are comfortable to the campus…

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Fighting anti-Semitism at the U of California

For several years, the University of California has faced some of the most serious charges of anti- Semitism in North American higher education.New developments provide hope that the University will turn this situation around. Last week, Jewish students settled an anti-Semitism lawsuit against…

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Jewish community backs Title VI

The organized Jewish community in the US has just cast a big vote of confidence for civil rights lawsuits to protect Jewish students. This is surprising because recent indications were that it would go the other way. The Jewish Council…

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OCR Opens Investigation Against Columbia

Here’s an important story that you probably are not aware of. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has just accepted IJCR’s request that OCR investigate whether a Jewish Barnard student was unlawfully “steered” away from a course…

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The New OCR Anti-Semitism Policy

The New OCR Anti-Semitism Policy[1] Since 2004, many of us have pushed the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to issue a new policy statement interpreting Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI)…

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