Scott Gaylord named Jennings Professor

The Jennings Professorship recognizes and supports the work of a faculty member at Elon University School of Law with fewer than fifteen years in the profession, who through his or her work has shown extraordinary promise as a teacher and a scholar. 

“Through his research and scholarship, Professor Gaylord is becoming a leading and respected scholarly voice on many important legal and policy issues,” law school dean George R. Johnson, Jr. said.

Gaylord’s recently published scholarship includes:

“Casey and a Woman’s Right to Know: Ultrasounds, Informed Consent, and the First Amendment,” Connecticut Law Review (2012) (with T. Molony)

“Unconventional Wisdom: The Roberts Court’s Proper Support of Judicial Elections,” Michigan State Law Review (2011)

“Constitutional Threats in the E-Commerce Jungle: First Amendment and Dormant Commerce Clause Limits on Amazon Laws and Use Tax Reporting Statutes,” North Carolina Law Review (2011) (with A. Haile)

“When the Exception Becomes the Rule: Marsh and Sectarian Legislative Prayer Post-Summum,” University of Cincinnati Law Review (2011)

“Licensing Facially Religious Government Speech: Summum’s Impact on the Free Speech and Establishment Clauses,” First Amendment Law Review (2010).

Professor Gaylord’s most recent article, “For-Profit Corporations, Free Exercise, and the HHS Mandate,” will be published in the Washington University Law Review. He also has written articles for such publications as The Federalist Society for Law and Policy Studies, North Carolina State Bar Journal and the ABA Supreme Court Preview.

In addition to producing scholarship, Professor Gaylord has served the legal profession with several presentations and panels for, among others, the Federalist Society, Pepperdine School of Law, Wake Forest Faculty Exchange, Southeastern Association of Law Schools, Loyola Constitutional Law Colloquium and the North Carolina Superior Court Judges Annual Conference.

Fully engaged in national and legal policy matters, Gaylord recently authored amicus briefs for cases in the Third, Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Circuits of the United States Court of Appeals challenging the requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that most employers must provide employees with health insurance that covers all Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods and sterilization procedures.

Additionally, Professor Gaylord regularly contributes to state policy and judicial branch discourse in North Carolina. In December of 2012, Gaylord authored Charlotte Observer and Winston-Salem Journal op-ed articles disputing recent requests for N.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby to recuse himself from an upcoming case. He has authored news articles and appeared on numerous television and radio stations to provide analysis on judicial selection methods and an array of Constitutional Law matters.

In his time at Elon, Gaylord has taught courses in contracts, constitutional law, first amendment, and federal courts. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Notre Dame Law School, where he was a member of the law review and received the Dean Joseph O’Meara Award as salutatorian.  Before joining Elon, Gaylord practiced with the Charlotte, N.C. firm of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson. He served as a law clerk to Judge Edith Jones on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston from 1999 to 2000. More information about Elon Law Professor Scott Gaylord is available here.

The Jennings Professor and Emerging Scholar is nominated by the Dean of the School of Law and approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the President of Elon University. This endowed professorship was established by a gift from Maurice Jennings Sr. ’57 and his wife, Linda, and Maurice “Burney” Jennings Jr. ’87 and his wife Dina ’87.

Professor Gaylord’s appointment to this professorship will become official August 1. Elon Law Professor Andy Haile is the current Jennings Professor and Emerging Scholar. He was preceded in the Jennings professorship by Elon Law Professor Eric Fink, who was named the first Jennings Professor and Emerging Scholar in 2010.