U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. Receives the Judge Edward R. Becker Citizenship Award
U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) started his career teaching fifth grade at the Gesu School in North Philadelphia and coaching basketball.
His desire to serve the public eventually led him to the U.S. Senate, where he has been guided by the wisdom of his late father, Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, who believed that “all public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor.”
On April 25, Sen. Casey will be recognized for his ongoing efforts to help improve communities as he becomes the sixth recipient of the Judge Edward R. Becker Citizenship Award. The presentation will be made during a 9 a.m. breakfast in the Center for Business and Industry, Room C2-5, 18th and Callowhill streets (entrance on 18th near the corner of Callowhill).
Joining him in the room will be members of the Becker family, prominent attorneys and legal scholars, and students and faculty from across the College who have benefited from Sen. Casey’s efforts to increase dollars for early childhood education and financial aid, combat hunger and protect the troops overseas. They will be available to share their personal stories with the news media.
The prestigious citizenship award is named for the Honorable Edward R. Becker (1933-2006), a judge who was as comfortable in the presence of Supreme Court Justices as he was with hourly wage workers. A Philadelphia native, Judge Becker was a brilliant scholar and a highly respected jurist. He served on the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals from 1981 to 2006, using his extensive gifts to uphold the highest standards of the law while maintaining a down-to-earth humility and common touch.
“He cared deeply about making the world a better place and recognizing the humanity in the stranger and the stranger in ourselves,” said Charles Becker, Esq., Judge Becker’s son. The Becker Award honors those who dedicate their lives to public service.
Sen. Casey could have begun his career in a comfortable office but instead he volunteered at the Gesu School in North Philadelphia, where he lived at 23rd and Girard Avenue with the other staff. Since then, he has continued to be a hands-on leader as he has worked, as a U.S. Senator, to champion funding for early learning programs, support record increases in federal financial aid and protect U.S. troops by leading efforts to stop the flow of ammonium nitrate, a key component in IEDs that have killed or wounded thousands of soldiers and civilians.
Previous Becker Award recipients include former Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell (2011); Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Marjorie O. Rendell (2010); Co-Founder, President and Executive Director of Project HOME, Sister Mary Scullion (2009); former U.S. Secretary of Transportation William T. Coleman, Jr., Esq. (2008); and U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (2007).