Jeffrey Rosen steps down as head of National Constitution Center
Rosen led the center for 12 years. He was replaced by Vincent Stango, who is now the interim president and CEO.
Jeffrey Rosen has stepped down as president and CEO of the National Constitution Center after 12 years of leading the private, nonprofit institution.
The center made the announcement Friday on the social media platform LinkedIn.
Rosen will remain as CEO emeritus. Vincent Stango, who has been serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer, has assumed the role as interim president and CEO. The center will conduct a national search for the top leadership position, a spokesperson said Monday.
“It has been an honor to serve the National Constitution Center and to work alongside such an extraordinary board and staff in advancing this mission,” Rosen said in a statement.
“As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, I am proud to pass the baton to Vince and our exceptional leadership team who are fully ready to guide the Center’s next chapter,” Rosen said.
“As CEO Emeritus, I’m looking forward to devoting more time to scholarship, writing, and public engagement around the enduring ideas of the Constitution and the American experiment. This seems like the right time to do that given the exciting programs we have in place for America 250,” Rosen added.
The National Constitution Center is known for awarding the annual Liberty Medal, which has been given to such notable figures in recent years as Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine; legendary boxer Muhammad Ali; and then-Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Anthony M. Kennedy.
The center, located at the north end of Independence Mall, was the stage for the only 2024 presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and has held talks with Supreme Court justices, including in September with Amy Coney Barrett.
Stango has been with the National Constitution Center for 26 years.
“I’m grateful for the trust our Board of Trustees has placed in me, privileged to work with colleagues whose dedication and talents I admire tremendously, and enormously thankful to Jeffrey Rosen for his 12 years of extraordinary service and the legacy he leaves behind,” Stango said in a statement.
In a 2014 Inquirer interview, Doug DeVos, a board member and president of Amway, said Rosen was picked for the job because of his background as a constitutional scholar and his network of friends at the highest legal levels, including Ginsburg.
“He had the skills to engage people in conversation, and really that was the piece that set him apart. He doesn’t do it in a way that says: ‘Hey, I am really smart. Let me tell you everything I know. It’s more like, ‘Let’s talk,’” DeVos said.
Rosen graduated from Harvard University and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. He served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
He was legal affairs editor at the New Republic and found himself interviewing members of the Supreme Court. Rosen was an early advocate for Ginsberg, and she credited him with helping her get the 1993 nomination from President Bill Clinton to the high court.
Rosen remains listed as a professor of law at George Washington University.
He is the author of several books, most recently "The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America."