Oct. 3, 2005
Contact: Terry J. San Filippo
Cal Poly College of Liberal Arts
(805) 756-1216
Cal Poly College of Liberal Arts Sponsors Constitution Day
SAN LUIS OBISPO - Cal Poly's College of Liberal Arts will sponsor the first-ever Constitution Day event with a discussion on the history of the Constitution from 11:10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Oct. 13, in the Rotunda (Room 213) in the Business Building.
Constitution Day was created to honor the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. government’s founding document. Cal Poly’s celebration kicks off with Music Department lecturer Katherine Arthur singing “America the Beautiful.”
Linda H. Halisky, interim dean for the College of Liberal Arts, will serve as mistress of ceremonies. Speakers include Robert C. Detweiler, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs; Ronald C. Den Otter, political science professor; and Sandra Gardebring Ogren, vice president of university advancement. A question-and-answer period will follow.
Detweiler has been serving as interim provost since January 2004, after a distinguished 35-year career in the California State University system. In addition to his provost and vice president duties, Detweiler also teaches part time in the History Department. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Washington and specializes in the American Revolution.
“I admire the work and the wisdom of America’s founders Detweiler said. “They created a frame of government that has served us effectively for over two centuries and serves today as a model for republics throughout the world.”
Den Otter earned a Ph.D. in political science from UCLA and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He teaches courses in ethics and governance, contemporary American political thought, liberalism and its critics, the Anglo-American legal system, and the deliberative democracy.
Den Otter has published “The Place of Moral Judgment in Constitutional Interpretations,” in the Indiana Law Review and “Democracy, Not Deference: An Egalitarian Theory of Judicial Review,” in the Kentucky Law Journal.
Ogren, the third Constitution Day speaker, has been in her present post since October 2004.
Prior to coming to Cal Poly, Ogren served as vice president, University Relations, at the University of Minnesota. She has a long record of distinguished public service outside academe. From 1989 to 1998, she was a member of the judiciary in the state of Minnesota, first as a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals (1989-1991) and subsequently as an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court (1991-98). Ogren is a J.D. graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Law and Luther College.
“I have always been amazed by the wisdom and eloquence of those who drafted our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Together they form an elegant work that powerfully protects our individual liberties,” Ogren said.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-West Virginia) authored the bill creating Constitution Day, which was first celebrated nationwide on Sept. 17 this year. The law requires colleges receiving federal funds to provide educational programs to promote the Constitution. Because this year Sept. 17 fell on a weekend prior to the start of fall classes, Cal Poly is holding the event on Oct. 13.
The event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the
Cal Poly President’s Office, Provost’s Office, and the
College of Liberal Arts.
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