University of New England

UNE holds panel discussion to celebrate U.S. Constitution Sept. 13th

A panel discussion on the United States Constitution will be held Tuesday, September 13, 2005  from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. in the University of New England's St. Francis Room of the Ketchum Library on the University Campus, 11 Hills Beach Road, Biddeford. 

This panel is sponsored by the UNE Department of Political Science and organized in compliance with the December 2004 Federal government’s legislation, which requires that all educational institutions that receive federal funds implement educational programs relating to the United States Constitution.  The objective of this panel is to educate and raise the awareness of our students regarding the making, reading, and significance of The Constitution.

Our three distinguished panelists are: UNE President Sandra Featherman, Ph.D.,  and attorneys John-Paul DeRosa and Kevin O’Neil.  They will cover the following topics:

The Making and the Significance of the American Constitution
UNE’s President Dr. Sandra Featherman

Dr. Featherman is a distinguished political scientist with nationally recognized expertise on American elections.  Dr. Featherman’s more than 50 academic publications include:  "Higher Education in the United States", "Race and Elections at the Millennium", and an article of UNESCO on "The Status of Women in Higher Education Administration in North America" published in English, French and Spanish.

The American Constitution - Resource for Liberty
John-Paul DeRosa
Former International Counsel for UNUM Provident Corporation
 
Mr. DeRosa, a graduate of the Yale Law School and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management of Brandeis University, practiced international business law for many years and has also worked as a visiting scholar at the Boston University School of Law on statutory drafting in the developing world and as a research fellow at American University in Cairo, Egypt on refugee law issues.

A Modern View of the Separation of Church & State under the U.S. Constitution: Examples from this Year’s Supreme Court’s Rulings
Kevin H. O'Neill

Mr. O’Neil is an attorney and director - Northern District, Gibson & Behman, Manchester, NH.  Mr. O'Neill has practiced law for 20 years in a variety of legal areas and has served as a board certified appellate attorney. He handled an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. He also authored a law review article on the separation of church and state in the federal courts. He formerly served as a federal law clerk.

Light lunch will be provided at noon
Presentation begins at 12:15 p.m.
For more information contact:
Professor Ali Abdullatif Ahmida
Chair of the Department of Political Science, Ext. 2804

(Press release issued Sept. 6, 2005)