U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will deliver a lecture at the University of Texas in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This comes amidst a university's institutional push towards a more conservative approach, with the creation of conservative-minded centers and institutes at the university and the consolidation of seven ethnic and gender studies departments into two new departments. The lecture, which is not open to the public, follows a series of controversial statements by Thomas regarding the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling and potential challenges to precedents on contraception and same-sex marriage.