Professors Mark Kende and Jerry Foxhoven each served as a panelist for different Constitution Day activities. Kende participated at Iowa State as a panelist for “Genes, Race, Free Speech, Same-Sex Marriage and the U.S. Supreme Court.” Foxhoven was a panelist for a webinar sponsored by the Iowa State Bar Association (ISBA) and the Iowa Department of Education. The webinar was titled, “The Constitution – The Words We Live By.”
The panel at Iowa State discussed recent Supreme Court rulings and featured Kende along with ACLU of Iowa executive director Ben Stone, AS’03, and senior lecturer in political science at Iowa State, Dirk Deam. Topics for the panel included marriage equality, the Voting Rights Act, gene patents, affirmative action, as well as potential cases that may go before the court.
“This event provided a useful opportunity to engage in a dialogue with other constitutional experts on some of the most important cases and issues that are coming before the Supreme Court,” says Mark Kende, James Madison Chair in Constitutional Law and director of the Constitutional Law Center. “The format also allowed a lot of student questions and involvement. Iowa State should be commended on holding such an educational forum and furthering knowledge about the U.S. Constitution.”
The Iowa State Bar Association (ISBA) and the Iowa Department of Education joined together to offer a Constitution Day Webinar for area high schools. The theme was, “The Constitution – The Words We Live By.”
Panelist engaged the audience for 10-15 minutes each followed by a time for questions from students and teachers. Professor Jerry Foxhoven was one of the featured panelists for the webinar.
“This was a great opportunity for Iowa students to learn more about the Constitution and its impact on their everyday lives,” says Foxhoven. “The students’ questions showed that they cared about our constitution and understood how important our Constitution remains to all of us.”
Constitution Day is celebrated annually and commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution.