The Man, Michael Farris
Constitutional lawyer and the man who founded the Home School Legal Defence Association, Michael Farris, is a chancellor at the Patrick Henry College and promotes the institution as a Christian base for training with a method to impact “for Christ and liberty.”
Farris opened the college in 2000, when he was president of the Home School Legal Defence Association; he decided to leave the role to take up a new position as a professor of Government until 2006.
The Patrick Henry College is a four-year Christian college which trains students in the liberal arts and apprenticeship methodology. He still teaches Constitutional Law today and as well as being a motivational speaker, Farris has found the time to write more than a dozen books including three novels. His writing has also seen him produce a text book on constitutional law and publications on better parenting, marriage, political advocacy and home schooling.
Home School Heartbeat is the name of his daily radio show which broadcasts to hundreds of American homes via 300 or so radio networks across the country. Michael Farris and his wife Vickie have home schooled their children since 1982 and they have ten children and 14 grandchildren.
Farris graduated with a degree in political science when attending the Western Washington State College University and in 2011 he attained a degree with merits in Public International Law from the University of London in 2011.
He has advocated home schooling virtually all of his life and creating the HSLDA he was able to enforce a number of court rulings that favoured home school teaching. Many policy changes came about as a result of efforts by the association to advocate home schooling.
In 2007, Farris published a book called From Tyndale to Madison, which promotes home schooling and family values. As a United States constitutional lawyer, Farris has worked tirelessly to advocate religious freedom.
Farris has successfully made a name for himself in magazines like Education Monthly and with more than 30 years leadership on Capitol Hill he has become something of a celebrity among the advocates of home schooling. His prolific writing has seen him recognized with several awards including the Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship, a prestigious award given by the Heritage Foundation.
Farris has served as lead counsel in the US Supreme Court and on the appellate courts of 13 states. He and his wife live in Virginia.