Neal H. Hutchens, Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2007, J.D., University of Alabama School of Law, 2002.  Assistant Professor.

Neal Hutchens (vita in PDF) joined the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation in Fall 2009. 

His scholarship centers on law and policy matters in higher education, with much of his research focused on institutional autonomy concerns and issues dealing with speech and expression, including in relation to academic freedom. 

Hutchens earned a Ph.D. in education policy with a specialization in higher education from the University of Maryland.  While in graduate school, he served as a legislative fellow on the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. As a legislative fellow, Hutchens worked on numerous legislative issues related to education, including the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.  He earned his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he graduated summa cum laude and was a member of the Alabama Law Review.

His scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in publications that include the Journal of College and University Law, West's Education Law Reporter, the Journal of Law and Education, and the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice.