Mike Pence speaks at the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Constitution Day event on Sept. 17, 2025. (Rithvik Hari / Fourth Estate)

Students reflect on learning from the former vice president

BY SAM DOUGLAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND RITHVIK HARI, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Former Vice President Mike Pence announced Sept. 16, 2025, in front of a crowd at Mason Square that he would join George Mason University as a professor beginning in the Spring 2026 semester.

Named a distinguished professor of practice by the university, Pence co-teaches “The Character of the American Constitution” at Mason’s Arlington campus alongside Gregory Jacob, who served as Pence’s legal counsel during his time as vice president. 

The course was offered as a 300-level undergraduate course in government while simultaneously being offered as a 500-level graduate course in policy and government, with 150 students enrolled across both sections. 

Beyond lectures, Pence and Jacob hold “fireside chats” during class, offering an opportunity for  open discussion fielding questions from students about Pence’s experiences in office and his former running mate.

“One of the most impactful parts of the GOV319 class has been the fireside chats,” Skylar Ringo, a sophomore majoring in Government and International Politics, said. “I appreciate how Professor Jacob and Professor Pence take time to allow for questions from their students to ask about huge historical moments and how that’s impacted their time as public servants of the American people.”

Pence, who served as 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 with President Donald Trump, previously represented Indiana’s 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and served as Indiana’s governor from 2013 to 2017. His academic position at George Mason marks his most prominent public role since leaving the White House. 

Jacob played a central role in advising the former vice president during the constitutional debates surrounding the 2020 presidential election certification, bringing firsthand legal expertise to the classroom. His experience advising Pence on the limits and scope of the vice president’s power under the 12th Amendment has become a key reference point in constitutional law discussions. Jacob also brings decades of legal and government experience to the classroom. 

“If you’re even remotely curious about why our institutions are the way they are, why America is the way it is, or even if you’re not, I recommend it.” Zach Lincoln, a senior Public Policy major enrolled in the 300-level class said.

The course begins with a deep dive into the drafting of the Constitution, guiding students through primary documents written by the nation’s founders and examining why certain phrases and provisions were included or excluded from the final text. Pence and Jacob then walk students through each branch of government and the constitutional framework that governs each. 

As the semester progressed, the course covered landmark legal and political confrontations that have set new precedents. Later weeks examined the use of emergency presidential power, congressional oversight and the ongoing tension between originalism and living constitutionalism, and how Pence and Jacob navigated the final days of the first Trump administration. 

The course taught by two figures who sat at the center of one of the most consequential moments in recent American political history, “The Character of the American Constitution” gave students a rare opportunity to examine the nation’s founding document through the eyes of those who swore an oath to defend it.

“Moments like these do not come often to most, so I am so grateful that it’s offered through the George Mason Arlington campus,” Ringo said.

Pence joins a long line of distinguished visiting professors to teach at the university. Others include Michael Hayden, the former director of the CIA who has taught at the university since 2009 and created the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security at the university’s Arlington campus. Several Supreme Court justices have also been visiting professors at the school’s Antonin Scalia Law School, including Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Former Governor Terry McAuliffe also teaches at Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government.