Center for Constitutional Law and Bliss Institute to commemorate anniversary of 25th Amendment

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution’s 25th Amendment, The University of Akron School of Law’s Center for Constitutional Law (Center for Con Law) and the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics will co-sponsor a half-day symposium on Friday, Jan. 25. The history and relevance of the amendment and its provision for the vice president and cabinet to remove a president from office because of disability will be examined.

The day begins with nationally renowned political scientist Norman J. Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute as the keynote speaker for the Akron Press Club’s monthly luncheon. 

Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He studies politics, elections and the U.S. Congress. He is a co-host of AEI’s Election Watch series. He also is a contributing editor and columnist for National Journal and The Atlantic, and a BBC News election analyst. Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann co-authored “It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism.” 

Focus on the challenges

The Akron Press Club buffet lunch starts at 11:30 a.m. at Quaker Station, 135 S. Broadway St., on the UA campus. The program begins at noon when Ornstein will deliver a speech titled, “Is the 25th Amendment Enough? Challenges in Presidential Succession.” There will be an opportunity for questions following the speech. The cost is $20 for Akron Press Club members; $25 for nonmembers. Registration and more information is available online.

UA students, faculty and staff, and members of the public who want to hear the keynote speech, but not partake of the buffet luncheon, are invited to attend free of charge. They’re asked to simply arrive by 11:50 a.m. and proceed to the registration table to notify Press Club hosts that they are there for the keynote speech only.

Afterward, a symposium will start at 1:30 p.m. at the C. Blake McDowell Law Center, 150 University Ave., on the UA main campus, and will feature presentations by experts to an audience of students, academics and practitioners. Two distinct panels will discuss diverse topics such as the role of medical professionals in the amendment’s implementation and the value of promoting presidential continuity. Speakers from the Bliss Institute and Akron Law will join guest panelists from around the nation, including Yale, Michigan State and Fordham. The program details can be found online, with travel and parking instructions online here.

Students, academics, practitioners and members of the public alike are welcome to attend the symposium free of charge, and no registration is required. All papers and presentations will also be published in the Center for Con Law’s journal, ConLawNOW.

Media contact: Lisa Craig, 330-972-7429 or lmc91@uakron.edu.