The National Constitutional Center has named the legal scholar Hiram E. Chodosh as its next president and chief executive, the center announced on Thursday. He will be its first permanent leader since Jeffrey Rosen abruptly departed in January after a management dispute with the board.
Chodosh, who until June was the president of Claremont McKenna College, will begin the job in January as the center, which is near Independence Hall in Philadelphia, wraps up its observances of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and turns to preparing for another anniversary — the Constitution’s 250th, in 2037.
The center, a private nonprofit organization, was established by Congress in 1988, with the mission of promoting understanding of the Constitution on a nonpartisan basis and providing a venue for debate. In addition to operating a museum, it produces educational materials and organizes lectures and events, which this year included the presentation of its Liberty Medal to Pope Leo XIV.
The board’s president, Mike George, in a statement called Chodosh a “transformational leader.”
“He sees possibilities where others see limitations,” George said, “and has demonstrated the ability to inspire people, forge powerful partnerships and marshal the resources necessary to translate ambitious ideas into institutional achievement and national influence.”
Rosen, a prominent writer and legal commentator, retains the title of chief executive emeritus. Vince Stango, a longtime executive at the center who has served as interim president, will be deputy chief executive and co-president.
In his 13 years at Claremont McKenna, Chodosh drew praise from free speech advocates for initiatives like the Open Academy, a program emphasizing civil dialogue and viewpoint diversity. He also completed a nearly $1.1 billion fund-raising campaign, which has been cited as among the largest ever by a liberal arts college.
In an interview, Chodosh said the country’s current political polarization was an “enormous threat” but perhaps less deep-seated than assumed.
“Data shows that the majority of Americans do not favor the hyper-partisanship that enters the public sphere,” he said. “We have an opportunity to draw on that powerful middle that is often missed or unseen or undervalued.”
The center said its educational materials reached 6.1 million students last year. In Philadelphia, it also operates what Chodosh called a “world-class museum,” whose current offerings include a rare original printing of the Constitution and an exhibition about Pennsylvania’s contributions to American democracy, including its radically democratic state constitution of 1776.
That constitution created a government consisting of a single legislative chamber, with no senate or executive. It allowed any taxpaying free man over 21 to vote, with no property requirement — the widest franchise of any state.
That level of democracy alarmed many of the founders, including John Adams, who predicted that such “wretched ideas of government” would lead to chaos. The state’s constitution was replaced in 1790, after a backlash that also influenced the U.S. Constitution, with its checks and balances and structural limitations on popular rule, like the Electoral College.
Chodosh arrives at the center amid roiling debate over the future of American democracy, and what some see as dire threats to the Constitution. In an article in Philadelphia Magazine this year, the journalist Larry Platt called on the center’s leadership to “take some risks” in response to events like the fatal shooting of a citizen in Minneapolis by masked federal immigration agents.
Asked about the perception that democracy is threatened not just by polarization, but also by political actors, Chodosh emphasized the center’s strictly nonpartisan educational mission.
“I may have my personal views on the political threats, or what the courts should do, but that’s not the point of my role,” he said. “My role is to build the underlying foundation of learning and ethical commitment and mutual support for us to work through those very difficult challenges.”
The center’s museum, Chodosh added, invites people to put themselves in the founders’ shoes. “It’s an opportunity to have a shot at thinking, ‘What would they do?’”
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