The College invited Russ Feingold, Wisconsin’s former US Senator and current president of the American Constitution Society as its speaker for Constitution Day, a September 17 federal observance recognizing the adoption of the US Constitution and those who have become US citizens by birth or naturalization.

“Anyone who knows me knows your part of the country is my favorite place on Earth,” Feingold told Angela Stroud, associate professor of sociology and social justice, during his opening remarks during a virtual conversation. Feingold has a house on Madeline Island and has spent portions of the last thirty-five years in the region.

Feingold and Stroud discussed the promise and failures of the US Constitution during a lunchtime talk, attended by campus and the public. “The only way to allow the Constitution to be credible is to be candid,” he said. “It’s a marvelous concept and brutal document.”