Crossing the aisle
Biden school Civility in Public Service Award
The Biden School Civility in Public Service Award, sponsored by the SNF Ithaca Initiative, is an annual event that honors two public servants from disparate places on the political spectrum who successfully worked together for the public good.
Award recipients:
In 2025, South Carolina State Representatives Brandon L. Cox and Jermaine L. Johnson, Sr., were honored for their bipartisan efforts to establish a Robert Smalls Monument, honoring the Black Civil War hero and legislator, on the grounds of the South Carolina State House.
In 2024, U.S. Congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride (D-Delaware) and State Rep. Bryan Shupe (R-Delaware) were recognized for their leadership in passing the Digital Citizenship Education Act, making Delaware one of the first states in the nation to legislate media literacy beginning in kindergarten.
In 2023, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) were honored for joining together with a group of other senators to introduce and eventually pass the Respect for Marriage Act.
In 2022, State Reps. Michael Smith (R-Delaware) and Valerie Longhurst (D-Delaware) were awarded for drafting and passing a bipartisan bill that expanded mental health services across Delaware’s elementary schools.
_800x420.jpg "From left, UD Biden School Dean Joseph Trainor, award recipients Bryan Shupe and Sarah McBride, Biden Institute chair Valerie Biden Owens and Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative director Timothy Shaffer.")
