46th President Joe Biden returns to SU for portrait unveiling ceremony
Former President Joe Biden returned to SU’s College of Law for the first time in a decade to attend the unveiling ceremony of his portrait. Biden reflected on how his SU education prepared him for a career in public service. Avery Magee | Photo Editor
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Former United States President Joe Biden made his first appearance at Syracuse University in a decade at the College of Law Tuesday for a ceremony unveiling a portrait in his honor.
The portrait will hang in the College of Law’s Kossar Reading Room — in the same school Biden graduated from in 1968 — School of Law Dean Terence Lau told attendees in his opening remarks.
The former president gave a speech reflecting on his education at SU, where he said he gained the “legal grounding” for the rest of his career in public service.
“Everything I did as an elected official was all an extension of what I learned here at Syracuse,” Biden said. “It was here at Syracuse, as I studied our constitution, I began to understand that our democracy is the very soul of this nation.”
Since leaving office in 2025, Biden has made only a few public appearances. Most recently, the former president attended the March funeral of Rev. Jesse Jackson, an American civil rights activist, in Chicago. Biden last visited the city of Syracuse in 2024 to commemorate the CHIPS and Science Act, which included a $6.1 billion federal grant toward a local semiconductor facility by Micron Technology.
Between spirited anecdotes and heartfelt condolences to his late family — including his son Beau Biden, his first wife Neilia Hunter Biden and their daughter Naomi — Biden’s speech thanked SU for following him throughout his political career and the rest of his life.
“Since the time I left, my life has handed me significant high highlights and very low blows,” Biden said. “The Syracuse community has been looking through it all.”
It was at SU, where he attended with his late wife, and where his son, Beau Biden, followed in his footsteps, earning his law degree in 1994.
In 2016, a year after Beau Biden’s death, the College of Law created the Beau Biden Memorial Scholarship Fund. During the ceremony, Lau praised the Biden family’s commitment to public service and announced that, with the support of the school’s alumni, the university doubled the scholarship.
“That spirit of service runs deep in the Biden family,” Lau said. “Beau Biden, class of 1994, carried forward that same commitment to public service and the law, championing children’s rights, standing up for victims of abuse and advocating for society’s most vulnerable.”
The portrait was commissioned by Biden’s former classmate Bill Brodsky, whom Biden humorously recalled losing the election for class president during their law school years.
American artist Michael Shane Neal, who painted the portrait, said he hopes it conveys the president’s strength, courage and determination while still maintaining a sense of approachability. Neal’s work is exhibited in the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the Pentagon.
Lau opened the ceremony, welcoming the former president and other officials who attended, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens — both SU alumni like the former president.
Gallery: Biden speaks at portrait unveiling, SU leading figures attend ceremony
The dean, a fellow SU alum, welcomed the former president as “one of our own.” He said the decision to hang Biden’s portrait came after “careful deliberation.”
“Our hope is that this portrait will inspire generations of law students, a proud reminder to every student who walks through our library doors of what is possible when you combine a Syracuse law education with the courage to serve something larger than yourself,” Lau said.
Jeffrey Scruggs, chairman of SU’s Board of Trustees, joined Lau on stage to honor the former president for his investments in central New York. The chairman announced that outgoing SU Chancellor Kent Syverud and his wife, Ruth Chen, could not attend and “shared their regrets.” SU Chancellor-elect Mike Haynie was in attendance.
Scruggs pointed to federal investments into Micron and the Interstate-81 viaduct project under the Biden administration, saying his portrait will serve as a reminder to students that there are “no limits” to where a law degree can take them.
“As someone who grew up right down the street from this campus, I can tell you, an economic renaissance is taking shape here that this community has not seen for generations,” Scruggs said. “President Biden’s leadership made all of this possible.”
Ahead of the portrait’s unveiling, the former president’s remarks were introduced by Emery Bielecki, president of the College of Law’s Student Bar Association.
Bielecki highlighted the former president and U.S. Senator’s “landmark” legislation in protecting survivors of domestic violence and guiding the country through “extraordinary challenges.”
Kayzjah Charles, the School of Law’s class of 2026 president, also spoke, adding that Biden’s “dedication to those who needed a voice” reflects the College of Law’s emphasis on public service.
“The common thread through his remarkable career is his unwavering desire to put others ahead of himself,” Charles said. “This portrait will serve as a permanent reminder for all who pass through our doors that a life in service to others is not a sacrifice.”
As the former president moves forward with building his presidential library in Delaware and the Joe and Jill Biden Foundation, Biden said he hopes to pass down the “reverence of democracy” through his portrait and other contributions.
“I hope long after I’m gone, future classes at Syracuse Law School will see the portrait and be reminded not of me, but of the greatness and power of our democracy and of their obligation to do their part to preserve, protect, defend our constitution.”
