Severe Mental Illness in the Academy: A Secret Revealed

Abstract

Professor Elyn R. Saks is a chaired professor at the University of Southern California Law School. She was valedictorian at Vanderbilt University, has a degree from Oxford University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. She has written numerous works on mental health issues.

Professor James T. R. Jones is a professor at the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. He graduated with highest distinction from the University of Virginia and second in his class from Duke Law School. He worked at a Wall Street law firm, clerked for two federal judges, taught at the University of Chicago Law School, and is a noted expert on domestic violence.

What do Professors Saks and Jones have in common? Both have severe mental illnesses: schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, respectively. Both have been hospitalized for their conditions and take drugs that cause weight gain, tardive dyskinesia, high cholesterol, and nocturnal drooling. Severe Mental Illness in the Academy: A Secret Revealed discusses their secrecy about their diseases and their independent decisions to go public to show that people with severe mental illnesses can be highly successful law professors. Together, they are the face of severe mental illness in the Academy.

Keywords: bipolar disorder, manic-depressive illness, schizophrenia, legal education, law and mental disability, mental health law, law professors, legal academics, Academy, mental illness, law and disability, health law, Elyn Saks, The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness

JEL Classification: K32