Today, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) issued the following statement supporting the nomination of Akhil Amar of Connecticut to serve on the National Council on the Humanities.

“Akhil Amar is one of the finest legal minds in our country, and is an outstanding choice to serve on the National Council on the Humanities. Deeply respected by both students and colleagues, Akhil Amar will be a strong addition to the already diverse and talented Council. His nomination deserves swift consideration and support,” Murphy and Blumenthal said.

The National Council on the Humanities advises the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency that promotes excellence in the humanities by awarding grants to cultural institutions, including museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television and radio station and individual scholars.

Akhil Amar is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, a position he has held since 2008.  He has been a Professor at both Yale Law School and Yale College since 1985 and has held various professorships, including Southmayd Professor from 1993 to 2008, Professor from 1990 to 1993, Associate Professor from 1988 to 1990, and Assistant Professor from 1985 to 1988.  Mr. Amar worked as a law clerk to Judge Stephen Breyer, then of the U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit, from 1984 to 1985.  He is the co-editor of a constitutional law casebook, Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking, and has written several other books on constitutional law.  Mr. Amar is a member of the Board of Directors of the Constitutional Accountability Center and the Coalition of Freedom Advisory Board of the National Constitution Center.  He was named one of the “Top 20 Legal Thinkers in America” by Legal Affairs Magazine in 2008, elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007, and named a Senior Scholar by the National Constitution Center in 2000.  Mr. Amar received a B.A. from Yale College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.