A Civic Leader Works to Protect the Nation’s Constitution

NEW ON THE JOB

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia didn’t look very far when it searched for a chief executive to succeed Richard Stengel.

The center, a nonprofit organization that works to increase public understanding of the U.S. Constitution, instead approached Joseph M. Torsella — the man who led the organization from its formation in 1997 through 2003.

Mr. Torsella, 42, had no plans to return when he left the center in

December 2003 to found a Philadelphia private equity firm and run for a seat in Congress. (He lost in a primary race to become the Democratic nominee.)

But when Mr. Stengel left his position in June to become managing editor of Time magazine, John C. Bogle, the chairman of the center’s board and founder of the Vanguard mutual-fund company, sold Mr. Torsella on the idea of returning to his old job.

“In many ways, this is a homecoming for me,” Mr. Torsella says. “And while it is unexpected, it is absolutely a pleasure to be back.”

He returns to the National Constitution Center after founding 743 Ventures, an equity and consulting firm in Philadelphia.

Mr. Torsella has also been volunteering as the co-chairman of Philadelphia 2016, a group that hopes to bring the Summer Olympics to Philadelphia. The U.S. Olympic Committee recently named Philadelphia to its short list of five cities that could compete for the Games in 2016 and Mr. Torsella plans to continue his role at Philadelphia 2016 while leading the National Constitution Center.

While that duty — plus his role as a father of four children — is demanding, Mr. Torsella says he has made a relatively seamless transition back into the world of nonprofit management.

It has been made easier by the fact that the National Constitution Center is essentially the same organization it was when Mr. Torsella left less than three years ago. It has 80 full-time and 55 part-time employees and an annual operating budget of about $13-million. It also draws about one million visitors annually, numbers that aren’t far from where the organization was when he left.

In addition, Mr. Torsella’s interests are closely entwined with the Constitution Center’s mission. He studied American history both as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania and as a graduate student at Oxford, and has a deep interest both in the evolution of the United States and in the American political system.

“The Constitution is ingenious in so many ways,” he says, “but maybe its true genius is that it needs us to work to keep it working, so to speak.” The first time he heard about the Constitution Center, he recalls, “it was love at first sight. I thought, ‘Of course the world ought to have a Constitution Center, and running it would be the best job in America.’”

Still, Mr. Torsella says it is clear that the National Constitution Center cannot become stuck in the past if it wants to remain relevant in the future.

To grow, he says, the organization must create new and meaningful exhibits, such as recent ones highlighting Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin, that engage visitors and offer new perspectives on the Constitution. It must also keep up to date with how the document changes through current political and legal debate.

Finally, he says the organization must take advantage of a recent five-year, $6.4-million grant from the Annenberg Foundation to expand the center’s programs beyond its facility in Philadelphia.

Mr. Bogle says Mr. Torsella was the logical choice to accomplish those goals, at least in the short term. The board expects Mr. Torsella to stay at the organization for one to three years while it searches for a new, permanent CEO. He is being paid an amount in line with that of his predecessor — who made $282,000 — the organization says, but the center has a policy of not releasing precise salary details until it has filed its informational tax return with the Internal Revenue Service.

In an interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Torsella discussed his decision to return to the Constitution Center:

What’s it like returning to an organization you previously ran?

It’s the same and it’s different. It feels like a child you meet in different phases of his or her development. The Constitution Center sort of feels like home to me. What’s different is that it’s not a newborn anymore. It’s a young adult with a new set of challenges. Without being Pollyanna-ish about it, it’s wonderful in all the ways something new is energizing. It feels new.

What changes do you expect during your second go-round?

The Constitution Center is a gem of a place. It’s beginning to realize its potential. It has a superb senior staff and a great board of trustees. I think the collective vision is we keep doing the things we are doing. I don’t see any kind of radical troubles on the horizon. We just need to do more of it better.

How do you do that while still keeping it fresh for visitors?

It’s easier to imagine and assemble a blockbuster exhibit in the art world. For us, it’s much more of a challenge. And our biggest challenge is to keep doing it. The Constitution is never a purely historical subject. It’s always changing. In the same way, nothing gets people coming back to our center like something new. The risk is being complacent.

Our mission is less about the kind of legalisms of the Constitution than it is about engaging people in it. With that kind of a civic mission, it’s good for us to stay new and fresh. If we’re staying somewhere in the past, we are not being true to our mission.

How much does the center get involved in current political debates about constitutional issues?

We’re chartered to be nonpartisan and independent. We bring in people on the right. We bring in people on the left. Ultimately, we want people to think about the debate. We want people to see how the last 300 years have contributed to the Constitution. Then we want them to go out saying, “Here’s a pen, you write the next chapter.”

Now that you’ve come back, do you plan to stay here for good?

I don’t want to grow old here, and I don’t think the center wants me to grow old here. I’m here so we don’t lose a beat. It’s liberating. It’s almost like I’m a one-term president.

What’s your next step, then, after this position?

Almost everything I’ve ever done, I’ve never mentioned the future. I have no grand plan for what I want to do next.