Dr. Paul Kens

dr. paul kens sitting at a large desk with bookshelves behind him

Dr. Paul Kens joined the department in 1987 after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin from which he had previously earned a J.D. degree. 

A noted scholar in the field of constitutional law and history, Kens’ books on the topic include The Supreme Court Under Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite: 1874-1888 (University of South Carolina Press, 2010), Justice Stephen J. Field: Shaping Liberty from the Gold Rush to the Gilded Age (University Press of Kansas, 1997), and Judicial Power and Reform Politics: The Anatomy of Lochner v. New York (University Press of Kansas, 1990). His articles and reviews have appeared in variety of journals including The Journal of Supreme Court History, The American Journal of Legal History, NYU Journal of Law & Liberty, the Tulsa Law Review, The Journal of American History and The Review of Politics. He has been invited to present lectures in numerous prestigious venues. Most notably for the United States Supreme Court Historical Society Leon Silverman Lecture Series in 1996, 2007, and 2016. 

Prior to joining our faculty, he had published Buying, Renting, and Borrowing in Texas (Texas Consumer Association, 1980) and Consumer Rights and Remedies (West Publishing Company, 1983). He is currently working on a new book whose working title is Munn’s Warehouse: How Gilded Age Corporations Tried to Add Freedom from Regulation to the Constitution – and Failed.

Dr. Kens is a two-time recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship and has received the School of Liberal Arts award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities, and the Presidential Seminar Award.

During his time at Texas State, Dr. Kens served on numerous committees including the College of Liberal Arts’ Review Group and the President’s Scholars Task Force Established for Undertaking a Scholarly Analysis of the Lives of Sally Baretta and John Garland Flowers. Since 2018, he served on the editorial board of the Journal of Supreme Court History.