04/27/2026
On April 9, four presenters discussed the relevance of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to students and to the greater Cortland Community. The event was “The 250th Anniversary Celebration: Wrap-Up and Re-Launch.
The presenters were SUNY Cortland Provost Ann McClellan, Professor Jason Page, Cortland County Legislator Reed Cleland, and Galpin Institute Director John Suarez.
Suarez began by reviewing the 31 Declaration- and Constitution-related events that SUNY Cortland faculty, staff, and students planned and conducted during this academic year (with a few of those yet to be conducted), averaging about one/week.
Those events fit into the categories of Civics Education, Issues Education, Civic Discourse (emphasizing the importance of listening skills), and Celebration.
Provost McClellan described her work on the SUNY Committee that crafted SUNY’s new-for-Fall 2026 General Education Civic Discourse Core Competency.
Professor Page highlighted the importance of civic discourse and of our participation in civic decision-making, regardless of our academic major or career path.
Legislator Cleland emphasized civic decision-making at the local level, noting that this is where we can usually be most effective, with the results of our efforts being noticed most quickly and dramatically.
A Q&A session followed, with audience members describing experiences and contributing ideas regarding civic discourse and civic decision-making.
A post-event email from Assistant Librarian Jenifer Phalen provided information that is leading to a new campus-community collaboration around K-12 education – helping to relaunch our celebration of the Declaration into the new academic year.