Centre for Constitutional Studies welcomes new director

The University of Alberta Faculty of Law is very pleased to announce Richard Mailey as the new director of the Centre for Constitutional Studies. Mailey is no stranger to the university or the Centre. In addition to completing his postdoc at the university, he has also served as the Centre’s research associate since 2020.

Mailey received his LLB and LLM from the University of Glasgow, and PhD from the University of Luxembourg, where he also taught courses in constitutional law, legal theory and contract law. In addition, he has taught for U of A’s departments of political science and sociology.

Speaking about what attracted him to the director role, Mailey pointed to the value he’s seen the Centre offer first hand.

“We’re evidently at a juncture right now where people need accurate and engaging content on the Constitution as much as they ever have. I know that every generation feels like they’re confronting unique (and uniquely grave) social problems, but I think in this instance it might actually be true!” he said.

Mailey, who officially starts in the new role on June 1, has no shortage of upcoming projects he’ll be leading, including a symposium on the Constitution’s future and special upcoming issues of the Review of Constitutional Studies — a scholarly journal that the Centre publishes.

“I’m also really excited about a podcast series that one of our Research Affiliates, Dax D’Orazio, is producing on free expression — that should drop in July, shortly after I start at the CCS. And we’ll hopefully be producing another student podcast this year — our first one, on the duty to consult, was released earlier this year, and featured some great interviews with John Borrows, Sarah Mainville, Meagan Conroy, and the U of A’s own Eric Adams,” he said.

Mailey is quick to give credit for these initiatives to his predecessor, Pat Paradis, who recently retired from the role.

“Pat has been an incredible leader for the Centre, and has been a great inspiration and mentor to me personally over the last few years, which makes my new job at the Centre bittersweet — I’m excited, of course, but I’m also going to miss Pat a lot!” he said.

To keep up with Centre events, journal publications and news, visit the Centre for Constitutional Studies website.