Special to The Messenger

The effect of the Alabama Constitution on education will be among the topics today as Troy State University plays host to a Constitutional Reform Seminar.

Set for 2 p.m. in the Hawkins-Adams-Long Hall of Honor on the TSU campus, the event is open to the public. The seminar, which is sponsored by the TSU Faculty Senate, Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform and the Higher Education Partnership, is one of a series of meetings being held at universities statewide.

Dr. Gerald W. Johnson, director of Capital Survey Research Center in Montgomery and a presenter with Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform, will be the featured speaker. Gordon Stone, executive director of the Higher Education Partnership, will give remarks as well.

Johnson, a resident of Auburn, is director of Capital Survey Research Center in Montgomery and is emeritus professor of political science at Auburn. He has more than 30 years of experience in teaching, research and extension work in state and local government, public administration, public policy and political behavior. He is the co-author of the book "The Politics and Economics of Privatization."

The seminar will focus on the history of the Alabama Constitution, which dates to 1901, its effect on education and other functions of state government and methods available to change it, said Dr. Allen Dennis, seminar coordinator and chair of the department of history at TSU.

"The Constitutional Reform Seminar is part of the ongoing, statewide effort to find long-term solutions to Alabama’s education funding problems," Dr. Dennis said. "Tax reform and constitution reform are issues in this election year, and they go hand-in-hand."