Biden named chair of National Constitution Center Board of Trustees

“Vice President Biden’s love for the Constitution, and passion for teaching all Americans about its enduring principles, have inspired people around the world,” said Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center. “From his service in the Senate to his time in the White House, Vice President Biden has devoted himself to educating all Americans about the founding principles of the Constitution and their timeless relevance today. The National Constitution Center is America’s leading convening place for non-partisan constitutional education and debate, and all of us here are thrilled and honored that Vice President Biden will lead us as our Chair.”

“I am honored to chair the National Constitution Center and to succeed Governor Jeb Bush, President Bill Clinton, and President George H.W. Bush at the head of this national treasure,” said Vice President Biden. “The National Constitution Center’s mission to teach all Americans about the great document of human freedom that unites us has never been more timely, urgently needed, and inspiring.” 

“Once in a generation does a leader emerge with the patriotic devotion to service, reverence for our Constitution and our shared American values, and vision for educational opportunity of Vice President Joe Biden,” said University of Pennsylvania President and National Constitution Center Trustee Amy Gutmann. “We are all honored and excited that he will continue to provide unsurpassed expertise and a rare degree of wisdom as Chairman of the National Constitution Center. Our city, our nation, and our world stand to benefit immeasurably.”

Joe Biden was the 47th Vice President of the United States. On January 12, 2017, President Barack Obama awarded Vice President Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom, with Distinction, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In addition to chairing the National Constitution Center, Vice President Biden will lead the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement—a new center at the University of Pennsylvania focused on diplomacy, foreign policy, and national security—and he will serve as the Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor at Penn. He will also serve as founding chair of the University of Delaware’s Biden Institute, a new research and policy center focused on developing public policy solutions on issues ranging from economic reform and environmental sustainability to civil rights, criminal justice, women’s rights and more. Earlier this month, he and Dr. Jill Biden also launched the Biden Foundation, dedicated to ensuring that everyone – no matter their income level, race, gender, age or sexuality -- gets a fair shot at achieving the American Dream.

The National Constitution Center is a private, independent non-profit museum and education center located on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. Chartered by Congress during the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, the Center’s mission is to bring together Americans of different perspectives for constitutional education and debate. In addition to educating Americans about our founding principles, the Center plays a crucial role as a front-line responder to the constitutional debates that are emerging every day and will continue in the years to come. The cornerstone of the Center’s educational efforts is the Interactive Constitution, co-hosted by the American Constitution Society and the Federalist Society, which convenes the nation’s leading scholars from diverse perspectives to write about every clause of the U.S. Constitution. By the end of 2016, the Interactive Constitution had received nearly nine million unique visitors since its launch in September 2015, and the College Board has adopted it as a centerpiece of the new AP History and Government exams.

National news outlets turn to the Center as a trusted authority to answer the constitutional questions that are arising every day. Reflecting the national hunger for constitutional conversation, the Constitution Center’s web site averages 1 million viewers per month, making it the third most visited museum web site in the U.S. after the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. With Vice President Biden’s leadership, the Center looks forward to continue serving America as the Museum of We the People, America’s Town Hall, and the nation’s leading nonpartisan center for civic education.

About the National Constitution Center

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia inspires citizenship as the only place where people across America and around the world can come together to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. A private, nonprofit organization, the Center serves as America’s leading platform for constitutional education and debate, fulfilling its Congressional charter “to disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” As the Museum of We the People, the Center brings the Constitution to life for visitors of all ages through interactive programs and exhibits. As America’s Town Hall, the Center brings the leading conservative and liberal thought leaders together to debate the Constitution on all media platforms. As a center for Civic Education, the Center delivers the best educational programs and online resources that inspire, excite, and engage citizens about the U.S. Constitution. The National Constitution Center has also developed the Interactive Constitution, where scholars from across the legal and philosophical spectrum interact with each other to explore the meaning of each provision of the Constitution.

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