Michael A. Olivas

Michael A. Olivas is William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law Emeritus) at the University of Houston and the Director of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance. Olivas joined the faculty of the University of Houston in 1982. During his tenure at Houston he has been a visiting professor of law at both the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin (UW) and special counsel to UW Chancellor Donna Shalala from 1989-1990. Prior to 1982, he held teaching and research positions at Ohio State University and Howard University, and he served as director of research for the League of United Latin American Citizens in Washington, DC, from 1979-1982. He has received a Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association and the Research Achievement Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education, and was appointed a Fellow of the National Association of College and University Attorneys. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute. He served two terms as General Counsel to the AAUP. He received his PhD from Ohio State University and his JD from Georgetown University. His books include The Law and Higher Education, Suing Alma Mater, No Undocumented Child Left Behind, Colored Men and Hombres Aqui, and Prepaid College Tuition Programs: Promises and Problems. In 2011, he was the President of the Association of American Law Schools. He has a weekly NPR Radio show, THE LAW OF ROCK AND ROLL. In 2016-2017, he served as Interim President of the University of Houston-Downtown. In 2019, he retired and took Emeritus status.