George H.W. Bush named chairman of Constitution Center board
January 11, 2007
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA – Former President George H.W. Bush was named chairman of the board of the National Constitution Center on Thursday, a selection that highlights his civic leadership, museum officials said.
“One of our core values is the importance of active citizenship and no American exemplifies that ethic better than President Bush,” said Joseph Torsella, the center's president and chief executive officer. “By a lifetime of service, he has come to occupy a special and beloved place in American life.”
Bush, who is recovering from hip replacement surgery and could not attend Thursday’s announcement, called the Constitution Center a “jewel of America that brings the message of our Constitution, a timeless document which continues to change and transform our world, to the nation,” according to a statement.
He succeeds Vanguard Group Inc. founder John Bogle, who has served as chairman since September 1999, and has been named chairman emeritus.
Bush has been associated with the National Constitution Center since its creation by the Constitutional Heritage Act in 1988, passed when he was vice president. He has taken part in public service announcements and promotional videos about the center, and has served for 10 years on the center’s National Honorary Committee with his wife, Barbara, and all living former presidents and their wives.
In 2004, Bush was honored by the Eisenhower Fellowships in an event held at the center. He most recently visited in October, when he and former President Clinton were awarded the 2006 Liberty Medal for their Tsunami and Katrina Fund efforts.
The Constitution Center, a nonprofit organization founded in 2003, is dedicated to increasing public understanding of the Constitution. It contains a multimedia show, more than 100 exhibits on constitutional history, and artifacts including tickets to President Andrew Johnson’s 1868 impeachment trial, tools used by the Watergate burglars and a ballot from the 2000 presidential election.
Torsella also announced that board member Larry Kent, co-founder of investment firm Kent & Kent, was elected chairman of the board’s executive committee. Also elected to the board were Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., Ambassador of Luxembourg Peter Terpeluk Jr., and Permit Capital LLC managing partner Richard Worley.