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When former United States President Joe Biden stood in front of hundreds at Syracuse University Tuesday, he made it clear — choosing the law school’s Kossar Reading Room to hang his new portrait was intentional.

“Everything I did as an elected official was all an extension of what I’ve learned here at Syracuse, how to use the law, how to affect the values I’ve learned sitting at my parents’ kitchen table, dignity, respect, fairness, equality,” Biden said. “Whatever my legacy may be, I hope it will be said that I never stopped striving because of democracy.”

At Dineen Hall’s Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom, Biden joined College of Law leaders in unveiling a portrait painted by Portrait Society of America chairman Michael Shane Neal.

For the College of Law’s faculty and students, Biden’s portrait is more than symbolic. Dean Terence Lau said the former president shares a bond with those who will pass it: he once walked the halls of SU.

“We’re proud to have this portrait hung in our school and extraordinarily proud to call President Biden one of our own,” Lau said. “Our hope is that this portrait will inspire generations of law students to be 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.”

The visit marked the former president’s first visit in a decade to his alma mater — where he graduated from SU’s College of Law in 1968. Leaders from across central New York and the state attended in support of the former president, including SU acting Chancellor Mike Haynie, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens and U.S. Rep. John Mannion, among others.

From his contributions to legally-binding protections for victims of sexual assault, to his expansion of legislation protecting the LGBTQ+ community, law student leaders like Emery Bielecki, president of the Student Bar Association, and Kayzjah Charles, the School of Law’s class of 2026 president, highlighted the career politician’s commitment to upholding the college’s “dedication to those who need a voice.”

“The common thread through his remarkable career is his unwavering desire to put others ahead of himself, to fight for the everyday American and to lead with integrity and honor,” Charles said. “I’d like to think that his time at the College of Law had some part in shaping this portrait, and will serve as a permanent reminder for all who pass through our doors that a life in service to others is not a sacrifice.”

Avery Magee | Photo Editor

Law class of 2026 students, Kayzjah Charles and Emery Bielecki, introduce former President Joe Biden at his portrait unveiling ceremony on Tuesday.

Throughout his approximately 50-year political career, Biden made several impacts on the U.S. legal system. Just four years after graduating, he was elected to his U.S. Senate seat — a position he’d hold for 36 years before becoming vice president under Barack Obama and, eventually, president of the U.S.

While serving as president and vice president, Biden appointed hundreds of federal judges. During his presidential term, he appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first Black woman to hold the position. His presidency also marked several Supreme Court precedents that constrained his executive power — including Biden v. Nebraska, which struck down student loan forgiveness, and National Federation of Independent Business v. OSHA, limiting the government’s authority over workplace vaccine mandates.

But before that, Biden was a 22-year-old graduate student walking the halls of White Hall, where SU’s law school was once located. During his three years at the College of Law, the former president was a senior advisor for the freshman orientation program, co-chairman for the Speakers Program and part of the International Law Club. Biden graduated below the 20th percentile of his graduating class — with a class rank of 75 out of 86.

Biden even joked in his Tuesday speech about his contentious class presidential election between him and William Brodsky — drawing a comparison to the dispute over his 2020 election win.

“It’s the only head-to-head election I’ve ever lost in my career,” Biden said. “Maybe I should have asked for a recount.”

Brodsky, an SU life trustee, commissioned the portrait all these years later.

Biden’s ties to Syracuse don’t end with his education. The former president met his first and late wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, a member of SU’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta, at SU. When coping with the death of Neilia and his first daughter, Naomi, in the years following graduation, he said his SU law classmates stuck around.

“My Syracuse classmates were there for me then as well,” Biden said. “Since the time I left, my life has handed me significant high highlights and very low blows. The Syracuse community has been looking through it all.”

But what connects the former president to SU the most is sharing an alma mater with his late son. Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in 2015, is also a 1994 alum of the College of Law.

“Sharing Syracuse as an alma mater is one of the many things that makes me remember my son with such pride,” Biden said.

Biden has remained dedicated to Syracuse following his graduation. The alum returned to SU almost 10 times since 1968. He gave the graduation speech at the law school’s 1994, 2002, 2006 and 2016 commencements — and even hosted the law school’s centennial celebration in 1995. Beyond speeches, Biden has participated in several events in Syracuse for his political projects, such as a Middle Class Task Force meeting and a talk for his “It’s on Us” initiative.

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Most recently, he returned to the Salt City in 2024, touting his presidential-era CHIPS and Science Act, which included a $6.1 billion federal grant toward a local Micron Technology semiconductor facility.

Biden’s visit comes at a critical time for law students amid a presidency that is “challenged” by an “autocratic” leadership leadership style, former SU Law professor David Driesen said. Driesen, author of “The Specter of Dictatorship: Judicial Enabling of Presidential Power,” hopes the former president’s visit serves as a reminder of the role of lawyers in a democratic society.

“His presence should remind us that it’s a bit of a higher calling,” he said. “Lawyers are an important constituency of the rules of law in a Democratic society, that’s under attack now.”

During Biden’s presidency, central New York and the university felt the impacts of his policy.

In August 2022, Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which invested $53 billion into the semiconductor industry. Shortly after, Micron announced it would build the largest semiconductor manufacturing facility in the country in Clay, New York, bringing 50,000 jobs to the region. Biden’s administration also passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provided funding for the Interstate-81 reconstruction project regionally.

Beyond the administration’s investment in technology and infrastructure, it also passed significant policies around diversity and inclusivity, including executive order to expand diversity and inclusion in the federal government. In 2020, SU created its Office of Diversity and Inclusion after demands from the student body. The office’s title recently changed to People and Culture in July 2025, amid a national effort from the current administration to erase DEI language.

The event’s two student speakers, Bielecki and Charles, emphasized the importance of Biden’s visit. For Charles, Biden’s career serves as a testament to the work students can accomplish with a foundation in law.

“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 for the highest calling a lawyer to answer,” Charles said.

Along with Charles and Bielecki, many other students filled the auditorium’s seats, including some Student Government Association members. Emily Castillo-Melean, the incoming SGA president, was among them.

Although Castillo-Melean is not a law student herself, the president’s visit held a different meaning. As a rising junior who is worried about the reality of graduation, Castillo-Melean said she was overcome with emotion as the president spoke, and his words put her at ease.

Castillo-Melean noted the university is working amid a dynamic period, with new leadership, changing curriculum and federal changes for higher education nationally. Despite a hectic year, Castillo-Melean said the event highlighted the university’s strength and the various high-profile alumni who remain connected to their Orange home.

Now 83, Biden told attendees he hopes he can continue a legacy of “democracy.” He said that when students look at the portrait that will adorn their study spaces, he hopes they don’t just see himself, but a symbol of dedication to “protect the Constitution.” Biden is also in the process of building his presidential library in Delaware and establishing a foundation with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, also present at the unveiling.

“What my legacy may be, I hope it will be said that I never stopped striving because of democracy,” Biden closed. “God bless the students of this university. God bless the United States of America, and then, God protect our troops.”

Published on April 15, 2026 at 10:56 pm