Notes
IT WAS THE SPRING OF 2019 and I found myself sitting in the wood-paneled study of then-former Vice President Joe Biden. We were discussing his prospective run for the presidency, his agenda, and the team he would build around him. As I listened to Vice President Biden talk, I looked over his shoulder and saw a picture of my friend, his late son Beau. Gazing at Beau, dressed in a bomber jacket with a warm smile and the same conviction of optimism in his eyes so many Delawareans had come to know, I couldn’t help but think of all he meant to our state and the inspiration he now provided for his father. I looked into Joe Biden’s eyes as he spoke about his desire to “save the soul of the nation.” And I knew then that he was the man meant for this moment.
It wasn’t just my personal connection with Joe Biden that made me believe that he was the person best suited to become the 46th President of the United States. It was his long and distinguished career of public service, underpinned by an understanding of and passion for public policy first inspired and cultivated at the University of Delaware. It was a passion I shared—and one I was similarly privileged to grow at our beloved alma mater when I studied at the school that now bears his name, the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration.
My career in public service began decidedly differently than President Biden’s did, however. It was an improbable journey—one that would, decades later, lead me to become the first woman and the first person of color to represent Delaware in Congress. And it was a journey aided, in no small part, by the University of Delaware. Rather than rocketing directly to the U.S. Senate at the age of 29, I had spent my twenties traveling the world while going to school and raising a young child. When I returned to the United States, and as I was looking to kickstart my career, I attended a town hall hosted by Delaware’s young third-term congressman, Tom Carper. Congressman Carper told me as I had a baby on my hip and one in my womb that his office had internships available. I worked my way up from an intern to a caseworker, where I saw firsthand the government services created through policies, and helped Delawareans navigate those service systems. Through that experience, I gained invaluable insight into which policies were working and which weren’t. That’s when I began working on designing policy myself, first in the federal government through Congressman Carper’s office, and eventually at the state level when I joined him in the Governor’s Office.
In the 1990s, I served on Governor Carper’s staff as a policy advisor and head of the Family Services Cabinet Council. I was then recruited to join Delaware’s largest cabinet agency and became deputy secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. Finally, I became Delaware’s Secretary of Labor to help connect people in our state to good jobs and spur economic growth. In all of these public service positions, I saw the results of the Biden School’s work. The school is a vital asset to the state, providing both research and technical assistance to inform public decisions and a stream of highly motivated and well-prepared graduates to serve in state and local government and the nonprofit sector.
Having seen the benefit of the school’s work throughout my career, I enrolled in its Master’s in Urban Affairs and Public Policy program, where I sought to gain knowledge and skills to support me in fulfilling my public service responsibilities. I also wanted to expand my horizons and understand how Delaware’s challenges fit with what was happening in the wider world. As a graduate student, I learned the value of research and analysis, translating policy from paper to the real world. As I later described to University of Delaware graduate students, these foundations are more relevant today than at any other time in history. Our research informs practice as much as practice informs research. What we learn as citizen scholars matters to the world.
Earning my master’s degree was not easy. By this time, I was a single mom raising two young children and, like other mid-career, non-traditional students, I found it a challenge to balance family, work, and education. I would not have succeeded in earning my degree in 2002 without the assistance of many people at the university, like Raheemah Jabbar-Bey and Karen Curtis, who supported me on my journey.
When I earned my degree, I was state personnel director. That role enabled me to recognize how much the Biden School contributed to the professionalization of Delaware’s public sector. The school’s graduates were employed in or working with every state agency and virtually all local governments. In addition to its degree programs, the school also offers leadership training programs for staff working in government agencies and nonprofit institutions.
In 2004, I transitioned to the nonprofit sector, becoming CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League (MWUL). In this new community-based advocacy position, I observed the Biden School’s efforts in addressing Wilmington’s growing challenges, particularly those experienced by under-resourced and predominantly Black and Hispanic families. The league actively partnered with the school and its centers on initiatives to increase social equity and improve the quality of life for people of color.
Through my subsequent work in countries around the world like Jordan and China, I came to more fully appreciate the global interconnectedness reflected in public policy and how the research and work being done by the Biden School and its partners has consequences the world over. The school truly seeks to address complex global challenges by employing an open, interdisciplinary lens and to help translate research and analysis into policies and services. The Biden School practices the scholarship of engagement, and it does so at all scales, local to global.
After I was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2016, I appreciated even more the importance of civic engagement for the practice of democracy. I am glad that more Americans from more diverse backgrounds are now involved in crafting public policy, voting, and running for office. At the same time, we have been reminded that our democracy is fragile. That became especially clear to me when I was trapped in the gallery of the House of Representatives on January 6, 2021.
Promoting active citizen engagement in policy-making and governance is central to the Biden School. Its programs range from helping under-resourced communities develop revitalization plans to providing political decision-makers with data and analysis to inform the creation of policies. The school’s academic and community programs embody a commitment to public service and a recognition that civic engagement and civil discourse are the lifeblood of democracy. The Democracy Project, for example, is a program for which I’ve had the pleasure of presenting many times. It is designed to help teachers understand how government works and how their students can become more engaged citizens.
I believe that civic engagement holds the key to preserving our constitutional democracy. We need performers, not spectators. Preparing new generations of citizen scholars and community leaders is what the Biden School is all about.
The history of the school is the subject of this book. It is a story that should matter not only to those who have been and will be part of the school’s history but also to those who want to understand how universities can innovate in ways that help address our nation’s challenges. I should note that I can think of no one more qualified and capable of writing about this history, himself being a central pillar of it, than Dan Rich. Anyone involved or invested in public policy in Delaware has undoubtedly crossed Dan’s path and has been better for it. His affable nature, encyclopedic knowledge, and giving spirit have benefited generations of Biden School students and faculty alike.
The school’s story is a model of how universities can make a difference. It is hard to overstate the importance of its contributions to the state of Delaware, helping to drive the professionalization of the public and nonprofit sectors, providing data and analysis that underpin policy, and most of all, producing a diverse group of graduates who are dedicated to public service.
The Biden School’s story is still being written. Future chapters will build upon the strong foundations documented here by Dan Rich, and the school will become an even more outstanding exemplar of applying knowledge to address our nation’s challenges. As a Blue Hen, I hold as a point of personal pride that our great university produced a president of the United States. But perhaps even more exciting—the school that now bears his name is poised to produce thousands of public servants and citizens who will help us build a better and brighter tomorrow.
Lisa Blunt Rochester
United States Congresswoman, Delaware
July 2022