Statement from Victoria Reggie Kennedy on the Passing of Former UMass Boston Chancellor Sherry Penney

I was very saddened to hear of the tragic loss of Sherry Penney and her husband James Livingston. Sherry and my late husband Senator Ted Kennedy worked closely together to improve access to college for so many Massachusetts families. She also was an early supporter of the idea of an institute affiliated with the University of Massachusetts to improve civic education around the role of the United States Senate in our democracy, and was at the table for so many of the early planning meetings for what would become the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

Like Teddy, Sherry sought to inspire more young people to learn about the workings of our government so they could play a meaningful role in our country’s future. Her invaluable insight and advice in the earliest of days helped to make the Kennedy Institute the vibrant laboratory of participatory democracy that it is today. I send my sincere sympathies to the Penney and Livingston families, and will keep them in my thoughts and prayers.

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