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We are excited to share details about this year’s upcoming Constitution Day programming, which will highlight our 2025 First Year Book (FYB) selection, The Constitution of the United States: Smithsonian Edition.
Main Event: “We the Terps: A Day with the U.S. Constitution”
📅 Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 10:00 a.m. - 2 p.m.
📍Stamp Student Union, Prince George’s Room
This civic engagement celebration will include:
✅ Voter registration opportunities with TerpsVote
✅ Interactive student and community activities (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) featuring UMD Libraries Special Collections
✅ “TerpTalk”-style overview of key constitutional concepts:
10:00 a.m. – The Body of the Constitution
An introduction to the structure of the Constitution and how its design has shaped historical crises and debates across time
By Dr. Michael Ross, Professor of History, University of Maryland
11 a.m. – The Bill of Rights
A look at why the Bill of Rights was created and what it tells us about liberty and power in a new republic
By Dr. Holly Brewer, Burke Chair of American Cultural and Intellectual History; Director of Undergraduate Studies; Associate Professor of History, University of Maryland
Noon – The 14th Amendment
A deep dive into equal protection, birthright citizenship, and the expansion of constitutional rights in the states
By Dr. Michael Ross, Professor of History, University of Maryland
1 p.m.– The Constitution in Modern America
An exploration of how the Constitution shapes and is shaped by contemporary political and legal debates
A panel discussion with Michael Spivey (Senior Lecturer, Government and Politics) and Robert Koulish (Director, MLAW Programs; Director, Justice and Legal Thought, College Park Scholars), and Patrick Wohlfarth, (Professor, Government and Politics), moderated by Laura Anderson Wright (Senior Associate General Counsel, University of Maryland)