Albertus Magnus College Celebrates Constitution Day

New Haven, Conn., September 15, 2020 – Albertus Magnus College got an early start celebrating Constitution Day,
which commemorates the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in
Philadelphia. September 17 is the official federal observance.

Dr. Christina Wolbrecht served as this year’s virtual Constitution Day speaker at Albertus. She is the Professor of
Political Science, Director of the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy, and the C. Robert and Margaret
Hanley Family Director of the Washington Program at the University of Notre Dame. In honor of the 100th anniversary of
the 19th Amendment, Dr. Wolbrecht presented, Rhetoric & Reality: A Century of Votes for Women. She discussed how
women have voted over the past 100 years as well as how politicians, political parties, and the press have interpreted
those votes.

The event was live-streamed and students were able to gather in the Behan Community Room in the recently renovated
Hubert Campus Center to witness the speech as well as enjoy some light refreshments – all while maintaining social
distancing.

The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting a
woman’s constitutional right to vote. Although the Suffrage Movement and the 19th Amendment are criticized for
discriminating against many women of color, the passage marked the largest expansion of democracy in the history of
our country.

The Albertus legacy dates back to 1925 and the bold vision of the Dominican Sisters who answered a call of need,
embraced that need, and brought forward New England’s first Catholic, residential liberal arts college for women – who
might not otherwise have had access to an education of such quality and distinctiveness. More than nine decades later,
our Dominican mission continues to inspire the life-elevating education offered today to women and men, younger and
older, diverse in their heritage and life experiences – all learning on campus and online.