John F. Manning Explained

John F. Manning
Office1:13th Dean of Harvard Law School
Term Start1:July 1, 2017
Term End1:August 15, 2024
Predecessor1:Martha Minow
Successor1:John C. P. Goldberg (interim)
Birth Date:11 April 1961
President1:Drew Faust
Lawrence Bacow
Claudine Gay
Alan Garber
Education:Harvard University (BA, JD)
Birth Place:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Termstart:March 14, 2024
Office:Provost of Harvard University
Predecessor:Alan Garber

John Francis Manning (born April 11, 1961) is an American legal scholar who serves as the provost of Harvard University, and was the 13th Dean of Harvard Law School. He was previously the Bruce Bromley Professor of Law at Harvard Law School (HLS), where he is a scholar of administrative and constitutional law.

Manning received his undergraduate and legal education at Harvard University. After clerking for Judge Robert Bork and Justice Antonin Scalia, he was named the Michael I. Sovern Professor of Law at Columbia University. Manning moved to Harvard Law in 2002, becoming its deputy-dean, and assumed the deanship on July 1, 2017, succeeding Martha Minow.

Early life and education

Manning was born on April 11, 1961, in Los Angeles, California.[1] He is Jewish.[2] He matriculated at Harvard College, where he was a resident of Quincy House,[3] as a history major. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), summa cum laude, in 1982 with membership in Phi Beta Kappa.[4] [5] He was the first member of his family to graduate from college.

Manning attended Harvard Law School afterwards, graduating in 1985 and obtaining his Juris Doctor (J.D.), magna cum laude.[6] Following law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Robert Bork at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1985 to 1986.[7] [8]

From 1986 to 1988, Manning was an attorney-advisor at the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice. He left to clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia at the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1988–1989 term.[9] He was admitted to the bar of Pennsylvania in 1986, and to the bar of California in 1990.

Academic career

In 1989, Manning became an associate attorney at the law firm of Gibson Dunn in Washington, D.C. He left the firm to serve as an assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States at the Justice Department from 1991 until 1994,[10] when he began teaching at Columbia Law School, becoming the school's Michael I. Sovern Professor of Law.[11]

Manning became a visiting professor at Harvard Law School in 2002, and was named a professor there in 2004.[12] He was invited to join the law school by dean Elena Kagan as part of an effort to increase conservative members of the faculty. Manning's hiring came among a new series of public legal scholars, also including Jack Goldsmith and Adrian Vermeule.[13] He received the school's appointment as its Bruce Bromley Professor of Law in 2007 and remained in that capacity until 2017. In 2013, he became the deputy-dean of Harvard Law School. After the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law began accepting Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) results for student admission in 2016, Manning influenced Harvard Law's decision to also accept the GRE for admission, which the school announced in March 2017.

Martha Minow, the 12th dean of HLS, announced her intention to retire from the deanship on January 5, 2017, at the end of the academic year.[14] [15] After a selection process conducted by Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust and a faculty committee, it was announced on June 1, 2017, that Manning would serve as the next Dean of Harvard Law School. He assumed the position on July 1, 2017.[16] His appointment to the role as Minow's successor was praised by former dean Elena Kagan, who had become an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. It was also endorsed by Danielle Allen, director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, and Judge David J. Barron of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.[17] Affinity groups on campus had opposed Manning's appointment, and they instead supported David B. Wilkins.[18]

Manning is an authority in administrative law and structural constitutional law, and has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court. Manning is also an expert on issues concerning separation of powers.[19] He teaches administrative law, federal courts, legislation and regulation, separation of powers, and statutory interpretation. He was the co-editor of two notable casebooks: Hart and Wechsler’s Federal Courts and the Federal System as well as Legislation and Regulation. Manning's scholarship persuaded Justice Antonin Scalia to reconsider his majority opinion in Auer v. Robbins (1997).[20]

Manning was considered as a possible candidate by the Harvard Corporation to be President of Harvard University, though ultimately the position went to Claudine Gay instead.[21] On March 1, 2024, Harvard interim president Alan Garber announced that Manning would serve as the university's interim provost beginning on March 14, with John C. P. Goldberg taking Manning's place as acting dean.[22] On August 15, Manning was appointed as the permanent university provost, formally resigning as the HLS dean.[23]

Awards and honors

Manning has received the American Bar Association's Award for Scholarship in Administrative Law, and won twice the Willis Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching of Columbia University. On April 30, 2013, Manning was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[24] He was elected as a member of the American Law Institute on August 1, 2018.

Selected works

See also

Notes

  1. Book: The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory . 2000 . Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Incorporated . 978-1-56160-399-2 . en.
  2. News: Healey . S. Mac . Sundar . Saketh . March 22, 2024 . Interim Harvard Provost John Manning '82 Says He Will Return to HLS. His Colleagues Aren’t So Sure. . March 22, 2024 . . He is Jewish at a time when the University is defending itself against accusations that antisemitism is running rampant on campus. Manning was also the first person in his family to graduate from college and attend law school..
  3. Web site: Halper . Jamie D. . June 1, 2017 . Manning, Professor and Constitutional Law Scholar, Named Law School Dean . 2024-01-13 . The Harvard Crimson.
  4. Web site: September 20, 2013 . The Letter and Spirit of the Constitution . January 12, 2024 . . Princeton University.
  5. Web site: 2017 . John F. Manning . 2024-01-12 . Law School Professor, Student, and Faculty Directory . . en.
  6. Web site: March 29, 2001 . Attorney General Ashcroft Welcomes White House Nominee for Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel . January 12, 2024 . United States Department of Justice.
  7. Web site: John F. Manning: Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor of Law . 2024-01-12 . . en-us.
  8. Web site: Halper . Jamie D. . November 8, 2017 . A Dean for the Third Century . January 12, 2024 . The Harvard Crimson.
  9. News: Olson . Elizabeth . 2017-06-01 . Harvard Law School Names John Manning Its Next Dean . 2024-01-12 . . en-US . 0362-4331.
  10. Web site: March 29, 2001 . President Bush to Nominate Six Individuals to Serve in His Administration . 2024-01-12 . whitehouse.gov.
  11. Web site: Perkins . Christine . August 1, 2018 . Manning elected to American Law Institute . 2024-01-12 . Harvard Law Today . . en-us.
  12. Web site: March 13, 2017 . 'Without the Pretense of Legislative Intent': John Manning delivers Scalia lecture . 2024-01-12 . Harvard Law Today . . en-us.
  13. News: Bennett . Drake . October 19, 2008 . Crimson tide: Harvard Law School, long fractious and underachieving, is on the rise again — and shaking up the American legal world . January 13, 2024 . . 59–60.
  14. Web site: Sullivan . Casey . January 3, 2017 . Martha Minow to Step Down as Dean From Harvard Law . 2024-01-13 . . en.
  15. News: Gershman . Jacob . 2017-01-04 . Harvard Law School Plans Search for New Dean . 2024-01-13 . . en-US . 0099-9660.
  16. News: Rosenberg . John S. . July 1, 2017 . John Manning Appointed Dean of Harvard Law School: The faculty member succeeds Martha Minow. . January 13, 2024 . . Harvard University.
  17. Web site: June 1, 2017 . John Manning to lead Harvard Law School: Prominent constitutional scholar to become next dean starting in July . January 13, 2024 . The Harvard Gazette.
  18. Web site: Mystal . Elie . 2017-06-01 . John Manning Named New Dean Of Harvard Law School, White Men Rejoice . 2024-01-13 . . en-US.
  19. News: Gerstein . Josh . 2005-03-10 . As Harvard Seeks a President, Dean Kagan's Star Is Rising . 2008-10-26 . .
  20. News: Adler . Jonathan H. . Jonathan H. Adler . 2021-10-23 . Professor John Manning tapped to lead Harvard Law School . 2024-01-13 . . en-US . 0190-8286.
  21. Web site: Haidar . Emma H. . Kettles . Cam E. . February 23, 2024 . Harvard Corporation Did Not Review Claudine Gay’s Scholarship in Presidential Search . 2024-03-02 . The Harvard Crimson.
  22. Web site: Haidar . Emma H. . Kettles . Cam E. . March 1, 2024 . Harvard Law School Dean John Manning ’82 Named Interim Provost by Garber . 2024-03-02 . The Harvard Crimson.
  23. News: Kettles . Cam E. . August 15, 2024 . John Manning ’82 Will Serve as Harvard’s Next Permanent Provost . August 15, 2024 . The Harvard Crimson.
  24. Web site: April 30, 2013 . Manning elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . 16 December 2017 . Harvard Law Today . Harvard Law School.

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