BELMONT — A prominent professor, political philosopher and constitutional scholar who was deeply involved in efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade was honored with the 2025 Benedict Leadership Award from the Benedict Leadership Institute at Belmont Abbey College.
Hadley Arkes, Ph.D., who teaches at Amherst College in Massachusetts, received the award at a March 13 ceremony held at the college.
Founded in 2016, the institute’s goal is to develop Catholic leaders and inspire them to help transform society through their faith.
Arkes is the eighth recipient of the award, which highlights the achievements of people whose lives reflect the heroic leadership of St. Benedict.
“Hadley Arkes embodies the principles of leadership and moral clarity that the Benedict Leadership Institute seeks to promote,” said Conor Gallagher, executive director for the Institute. “His lifelong commitment to the protection of life and the advancement of natural rights serves as an inspiration to all who strive to lead with integrity and purpose.”
Arkes is known for his contributions to legal and political theory. His work spans several decades and has influenced debates in law, politics and ethnics, especially regarding the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and the moral foundations of law.
Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey honors pro-life advocate and legal scholar Hadley Arkes with the 2025 Benedictine Leadership Award. (Photo provided)A devout Roman Catholic who converted from Judaism, he is one of the nation’s leading advocates for a natural-law centered approach to legal reasoning and has played an important role in the development of conservative legal thought. He advocates for the integration of moral reasoning in public life, seeking to incorporate religious and moral truths in the way laws are structured and interpreted.
Arkes is best known for advocating natural law as a framework for interpreting the Constitution. His ideas have contributed to the development of the conservative legal movement, especially on the issues of abortion and the sanctity of life. Arkes was deeply involved in efforts to overturn or limit the scope of Roe v. Wade, and he played a role in the creation of the Born-Alive Infants
Protection Act in 2002, which affirms legal protection for infants born alive after a failed abortion.
Born in 1940, Arkes holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and a doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago, where he studied with the likes of philosopher Leo Strauss and prominent political scientist Herbert Storing.
Arkes joined the faculty of Amherst in 1966, where he developed signature courses on moral philosophy and the U.S. Constitution. Those courses led to two of his best-known books: “First
Things” in 1986, which inspired the name of a prominent Catholic journal, and 1990’s “Beyond the Constitution.” His most recent book, 2023’s “Mere Natural Law,” developed from his past decade teaching constitutional principles at the James Wilson Institute in Virginia.
Prior recipients of the Benedict Leadership Award have included Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, attorney and religious freedom advocate Nina Shea and CaptiveAire President Robert Luddy.
— Christina Lee Knauss