UCLA Chancellor Criticized by Law Professors Over 9/11 Symposium Response

September 23, 2026, 10:01 am CDT The UCLA chancellor is facing criticism from some law professors for voicing his concern that the law school hosted a 9/11 event featuring the lawyer of a terrorist mastermind. (Photo from Shutterstock ) The UCLA chancellor is facing criticism from some law professors for voicing his concern that the law school hosted a 9/11 event featuring the lawyer of a terrorist mastermind. The UCLA School of Law hosted the two-day symposium Sept. 10 and 11 examining the civil rights, legal and political implications of the post-9/11 counterterrorism framework. Melanie Partow, an attorney for terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was a featured speaker at the event. Mohammed is accused of helping plan the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He has also confessed to killing Daniel Pearl, a Jewish reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Pearls father, Judea Pearl, is a professor at UCLA and criticized the law school event. Chancellor Julio Frenk released a statement explaining that UCLA did not “endorse” the symposium. “Speaking at UCLA should never be mistaken for the university’s approval, endorsement or acceptance of an individual’s viewpoints or our institution’s indifference to the pain their presence may cause members of our community, Frenk said in a statement, according to a story by the New York Post . Afterward, nearly 300 law professors from across the country signed on to an open letter claiming Frenks statement was “widely interpreted as a censure of the conference, according to a story by Law.com .