A new program at the University of Oklahoma will focus on the study of the U.S. Constitution: its philosophy, historical context, legal substance and contemporary relevance.

Kyle Harper, an award-winning teacher and prolific writer, was appointed as interim director of the new Institute for American Constitutional Heritage. The OU Board of Regents unanimously approved the appointment during its regular meeting Friday.

The Institute for American Constitutional Heritage is a new interdisciplinary program housed in OU's Department of Classics and Letters. The goals of the institute are to create courses that provide students with civic and critical knowledge, thus empowering them as citizens and professionals, and to promote faculty research in the areas of constitutional studies and political thought.

Students participating in the institute will study such topics as the ancient roots of law, liberty and self-governance; the development of liberal and republican thought in the modern world; the historical and ideological background of the American founding; and the relationship of the Constitution with contemporary debates about justice and freedom.

"Kyle Harper is an exceptional scholar who is already establishing an international reputation in his field. He is an ideal leader for the new institute, which will make an important contribution to the nation by increasing our understanding of our constitutional heritage," OU President David Boren said.

Harper, an assistant professor of classics and a core faculty member in the Religious Studies Program, received his bachelor's degree from the OU in 2001, going on to obtain his master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard University in 2003 and 2007. His articles have been published in some of the most internationally distinguished journals in his field. His book, "Slavery in the Late Roman Mediterranean, AD 275-425: An Economic, Social, and Institutional Study," is under contract with Cambridge University Press.

Since joining the OU faculty in 2007, Harper has been the recipient of numerous grants. His courses on Roman Civilization and the Origins of Christianity are popular offerings at OU. He also teaches in the Osher Lifelong Learning Program at OU and regularly speaks at national conferences. Before coming to OU, he received many fellowships and awards -- including the Whiting Fellowship -- and won numerous teaching awards as a graduate student at Harvard.