Location | 210 Morrissey Boulevard Columbia Point Boston, MA 02125 |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°18′53″N71°02′07″W / 42.314852°N 71.035401°W |
Type | Specialized, Historical, Biographical |
Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums |
Visitors | 62,000 visitors per year (this includes about 16,000 students) [1] |
Founder | Edward M. Kennedy & Victoria Reggie Kennedy |
Architect | Rafael Viñoly |
Public transit access | JFK/UMass JFK/UMass JFK/UMass JFK/UMass |
Nearest parking | On site (no charge) |
Website | emkinstitute.org |
The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate (also known as the Kennedy Institute) is a non-profit civic engagement and educational institution on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, next to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on the University of Massachusetts Boston campus. Named for long-time U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, the institute contains a full-scale reproduction of the United States Senate Chamber, a replica of Kennedy's Washington, D.C., office, and digital exhibits. The organization includes the Kennedy Home in Hyannis Port, which was donated to the institute in 2012 as part of a "mission of educating the public about the U.S. government, invigorating public discourse, emphasizing the importance of bipartisanship, and inspiring the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the public square." [2] The Kennedy Institute is, along with the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, a co-sponsor of The Senate Project, whose goal is, through hosting a series of Oxford-style debates between leading U.S. Senators, to reintroduce the culture of seeking common ground and bipartisan consensus that has been the essence of the Senate since it was conceived in 1789.
On March 30, 2015, the dedication ceremony for the institute was held with President and First Lady of the United States Barack and Michelle Obama, Senator Kennedy's wife Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Senator John McCain from Arizona, former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle from North Dakota and Trent Lott from Mississippi, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey from Massachusetts, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, former U.S. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy from Rhode Island, Connecticut State Senator Edward M. Kennedy Jr., Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, EMK Institute President and former interim chancellor of UMass Boston Jean F. MacCormack, and many others in attendance. [3] [4] On the following day, the institute opened to the public. [5]
The building houses the only full-scale reproduction of the United States Senate Chamber. [6] Visitors are encouraged to explore the space with the help of exhibit interpreters and participate in the institute's signature daily programs, such as Today's Vote and Great Senate Debates. [7]
The exhibit halls feature technology-driven projected displays [8] that immerse visitors in the history of the Senate through exhibits such as What is the Senate?, Traditions of the Senate, and People of the Senate. [9] In addition, the halls include interactive exhibits, such as How a Bill Becomes a Law, where visitors work together to negotiate and select ice cream sundae toppings, vote on bills, override vetoes, and practice the skills needed to guide legislation through Congress. [10]
This exhibit features a full-scale replica of Senator Kennedy's Washington, D.C., office, where visitors, equipped with provided tablets, are able to explore the stories behind pieces of the collection. [11]
The institute offers a series of public programs and special events hosted in Boston and Washington, D.C., on local and national issues. These programs are open to the public. [12]
The Getting to the Point series convenes individuals with diverse perspectives to discuss current issues and the challenges the United States government is facing. Getting to the Point takes on various formats from town halls to keynote lectures and panel discussions, and showcases speakers from all walks of life. Since opening, the institute has hosted a variety of speakers ranging from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [13] and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer [14] to the late Congressman John Lewis [15] and Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martínez. [16]
This series brings together government leaders with disparate ideologies, from different political parties who are collaborating on a common cause. In moderated discussions, Across the Aisle highlights the type of civil discourse, negotiation, collaboration, and leadership that leads to solutions for pressing problems. The series features members of Congress, governors, mayors, and other elected officials and both national and local issues. [17]
The Edward M. Kennedy Oral History Project, created in partnership with the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, was released in September 2015. [18] The project is a compilation of interviews from current and former members of the Senate, House, administration officials, foreign leaders, Senate staff, issue advocates, journalists, family, and friends documenting Senator Kennedy's service. The institute has hosted a speaker series [19] that draws on this resource to highlight current and future national issues before the U.S. Senate.
The Kennedy Institute offers a comprehensive set of non-partisan civic education classes and programs for students in grades K-12, as well as for college and graduate students and lifelong learners in adult-education classes. Programs are available both in-person at the institute's facility on Columbia Point in Boston, taking full advantage of its unique full-scale replica of the United States Senate chamber, and also as online. The Kennedy Institute's programs are suitable for social studies, government, civics, and American History classes. [20]
The Kennedy Institute offers its online programming at varied times as a way to maximize access to its civic education offerings for students from other states. [21]
The institute's facility is a 68,000 square foot (6,317 m2) building designed by Rafael Viñoly, targeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) specifications for sustainable building. [22] The centerpiece of the institute is a full-scale recreation of the Senate Chamber. The halls lining the Chamber are known as the Chamber Surround, and feature the majority of the institute's exhibits. The institute also features a replica of Senator Kennedy's Washington, D.C., office, a Special Exhibits gallery, an Orientation Theater, and three technologically equipped studios for educational programs and breakout sessions. The institute also includes a café, a gift shop, and a coat check.
The institute is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The institute is on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Boston, adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and next door to the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum. The institute can be reached from nearby Interstate 93 or by taking the Red Line or the Commuter Rail to JFK/UMass station and boarding the free shuttle bus (#1) that drops off in front of the institute.
The institute's concept, design, and production are the result of a collaboration between Senator Edward M. Kennedy, his wife Vicki Reggie Kennedy, and Ed Schlossberg of ESI Design. [23] During the production process, Control Group was brought on for software development, Richard Lewis Media Group for media elements, Electrosonic for projection technology, and Gigantic Mechanic for game mechanics. [24]
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on April 8, 2011. [25] The institute was dedicated by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2015, with Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama in attendance. [26] The institute opened to the public on March 31, 2015. [27]
The cost of the institution was $78 million in 2011, with $38 million in federal funding and a $60 million endowment that helps to pay for the $10–12 million annual operating budget of the institute.[ citation needed ]
Adam G. Hinds, a former Massachusetts state senator and former United Nations negotiator based in the Middle East, became CEO of the Kennedy Institute in September 2022. [28] Sue Heilman served as Interim Executive Director from March 2020 through September 2022. [29]
The institute was previously led by Dr. Jean F. MacCormack from 2014 to 2017, [30] Andrew Tarsy from 2012 to 2014, [31] and Peter Meade from 2009 to 2012. [32] It was announced on November 4, 2019, "with mixed emotions" that the institute's president, Mary K. Grant, Ph.D., who only assumed leadership in 2018 [33] would be leaving within the month.
In 2012, the Kennedy family donated the main house of the historic Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port to the institute fulfilling a promise made by Senator Kennedy to his mother, Rose, to donate the house for charitable use. [34] The institute announced that it hopes to use the house to host educational seminars and other forums, and that it eventually plans to open it to visitation by the public. [2]
The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy became the first Kennedy elected to public office, serving in the Massachusetts state legislature until 1895. At least one Kennedy family member served in federal elective office from 1947, when P. J. Kennedy's grandson John F. Kennedy became a member of Congress from Massachusetts, until 2011, when Patrick J. Kennedy II retired as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island.
Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver was an American philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family. She was the founder of the Special Olympics, a sports organization for persons with intellectual disabilities. For her efforts on behalf of disabled people, Shriver was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984.
Edward Moore Kennedy was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party and the prominent Kennedy family, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died. He is ranked fifth in U.S. history for length of continuous service as a senator. Kennedy was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and U.S. attorney general and U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the father of U.S. representative Patrick J. Kennedy.
Patrick Joseph Kennedy II is an American retired politician and mental health advocate. From 1995 to 2011, he served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island's 1st congressional district, and was the first Generation X member of congress when he was elected in 1995. He is a former member of the Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission and a co-founder of One Mind, a mental health nonprofit.
The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – formerly known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children. The program was designed to cover uninsured children in families with incomes that are modest but too high to qualify for Medicaid. The program was passed into law as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and the statutory authority for CHIP is under title XXI of the Social Security Act.
EMK may refer to:
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963), the 35th president of the United States (1961–1963). It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, next to the University of Massachusetts at Boston, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, and the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum. Designed by the architect I. M. Pei, the building is the official repository for original papers and correspondence of the Kennedy Administration, as well as special bodies of published and unpublished materials, such as books and papers by and about Ernest Hemingway.
The "Boiler Room Girls" was a nickname for a group of six women who worked as political advisors for Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign in a windowless work area in Kennedy's Washington, D.C. electoral offices. They were political strategists who received national media exposure from the infamous Chappaquiddick incident in 1969. It was in Chappaquiddick that Mary Jo Kopechne died in a car crash, in which Ted Kennedy was the driver.
The Kennedy Compound consists of three houses on six acres of waterfront property on Cape Cod along Nantucket Sound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was once the home of Joseph P. Kennedy, an American businessman, investor, politician, and U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom; his wife, Rose; and their children, including U.S. President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy. As an adult, the youngest son, Edward, lived in his parents' house, and it was his primary residence from 1982 until he died of brain cancer at the compound, in August 2009.
Victoria Anne Kennedy is an American diplomat, attorney, and activist who has served as the United States Ambassador to Austria since 2022. She is the widow and the second wife of longtime U.S. senator Ted Kennedy.
Paul Grattan Kirk Jr. is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts from 2009 to 2010, having been appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of Ted Kennedy. From 1985 to 1989, he chaired the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Jean F. MacCormack is the past president of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, serving in the role from 2014 to 2017. MacCormack is the former Chancellor of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where she led from 1999 to 2012.
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American philanthropist, socialite, and matriarch of the Kennedy family. She was deeply embedded in the "lace curtain" Irish-American community in Boston. Her father, John F. Fitzgerald, served in the Massachusetts State Senate (1892–1894), in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as Mayor of Boston. Her husband, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., chaired the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (1934–1935) and the U.S. Maritime Commission (1937–1938), and served as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1938–1940). Their nine children included United States President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith. In 1951, Rose Kennedy was ennobled by Pope Pius XII, becoming the sixth American woman to be granted the rank of Papal countess.
The 2010 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was a special election held on January 19, 2010, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class I United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013. It was won by Republican candidate Scott Brown.
Kara Anne Kennedy was a member of the American political family, the Kennedy family. She was the oldest of the three children and only daughter of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts and Joan Bennett Kennedy, and a niece of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Kara Kennedy served on the boards of numerous charities and was a filmmaker and television producer. She died of a heart attack in 2011 at the age of 51.
Barnstable is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have been granted city forms of government by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts but wish to retain "the town of" in their official names. At the 2020 census it had a population of 48,916. The town contains several villages within its boundaries. Its largest village, Hyannis, is the central business district of the county and home to Barnstable Municipal Airport, the airline hub of Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Additionally, Barnstable is a 2007 winner of the All-America City Award.
The 2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on June 25, 2013, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class 2 United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015.
Adam G. Hinds is an American politician. He currently serves the CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. From 2017 to 2022 he represented the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden district the Massachusetts Senate. Hinds previously worked for the United Nations in the Middle East.
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