Professor of politics at Princeton, Robert George, addresses the Constitution in relationship civic virtues to a packed Galbreath Chapel.
There was standing room only in Galbreath Chapel on Wednesday night as Ohio University students, faculty and Athens residents gathered to hear the George Washington Forum’s third annual Constitution Day speaker, Robert George.
With about 100 people in attendance, the pews were filled as students sat on the floor to hear George, professor of politics and the director and founder of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, speak on the U.S. Constitution and civic virtues.
Robert Ingram, the forum’s director and an associate professor of history at OU, called George a “noted constitutional scholar.”
George is a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics and as a presidential appointee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.
Throughout the lecture, George addressed topics such U.S. leaders, power and its constitution. George underscored that importance with a simple creed: the people are the guardians of the Constitution, and the people must be well educated “because at the end of the day, it’s the people that have to defend their constitutional rights.”
George’s work has been influential in prompting people — no matter their political leanings — to think about difficult ethical issues as they relate to public policy, Ingrim said.
The forum invited George to speak in honor of Constitution Day. George said he was “delighted to have the opportunity to come.”
The crowd ranged from political science majors to Athens residents who heard about the event on local public radio. Aaron Reining, a freshman studying history, came with his learning community but said he would’ve come either way because of the interesting topic.
The forum has a regular speakers series that brings four to six speakers to campus each year. The forum also sponsors undergraduate research with five undergraduate research fellows, who get a stipend of $3,000 each, Ingram said.
The event closed with a question and answer session in which George got down from the podium and engaged with the audience, transforming the chapel into a lecture hall.
“Part of university education is learning how to be informed and engaged citizens, and events like this allow students to act the part,” Ingram said.
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