Lamar University and Lamar Institute of Technology will present a joint Constitution Day event 7 p.m., Sept. 17 at the LIT Multipurpose Center on the corner of University and Lavaca streets.
In December 2004, U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia added an amendment to Public Law 108-447, requiring all educational institutions that receive federal funds provide an educational program on Sept. 17, commemorating the date that the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1787.
In addition to commemorating the U.S. Constitution, the event coincides with the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln.
The speaker for the event will be Mark E. Steiner, professor of law for South Texas College of Law and author of An Honest Calling: The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln.
Steiner teaches American legal history, consumer transactions, internet legal research and torts. As a 1995 Fulbright Scholar, he taught at the College of Law at National Taiwan University.
He has also taught at the University of Houston Law Center and William Mitchell College of Law. He is a former associate editor of the Lincoln Legal Papers.
The book was named among the "Best of the Best" for 2007 by the Association of American University Presses and given a superior achievement award by the Illinois Historical Society.
His articles about legal education and American legal history have appeared in such journals as the Missouri Law Review, the Journal of Legal Education, Wisconsin International Law Journal and the Illinois Historical Journal.
He frequently presents talks about Lincoln's legal career before bar, civic and academic groups.
Steiner is also active in efforts to assist immigrants on the path toward citizenship. He teaches citizenship classes to immigrants seeking naturalization at the Adult Learning Center in Pearland.
Those efforts were recently recognized by USA Freedom Corps, a White House office that promotes volunteer service in America, which gave him a President's Volunteer Service Award. He also regularly participates at Citizenship and Immigration Forums organized by NALEO Education Fund and Neighborhood Centers Inc.
The Constitution Day event is open to the public with no admission fee.
For more information contact Mark Asteris at (409) 880-8064, mark.asteris@lamar.edu or Betty Reynard at (409) 880-8858 or betty.reynard@lit.edu .