Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., delivered the keynote address on achieving a strong middle class to around 500 people in the Schwartz Auditorium Saturday morning as part of the weekend-long celebration of the Heller School's 45th anniversary.Heller School Dean Jack Shonkoff, who was also honored for his decade of service in the position, offered some thoughts before University President Jehuda Reinharz introduced Kennedy.

"The Heller School, since it was founded, has always been an academic institution with rigorous scholarship and with active public engagement," Shonkoff said. "Embedded in that is a rich education program."

Shonkoff said he has seen many improvements to the school, including two new master's programs, an international program and increased undergraduate education commitments, such as the new Health: Science, Society and Policy major.

Reinharz then spoke of Heller's great reputation.

"The legacy of the Heller School is well-known," he said. "It is extraordinary."

Reinharz praised Shonkoff for helping raise millions of dollars for the new wing of the science building in addition to displaying strong initiative to expand social justice.

Reinharz then listed Kennedy's focal points.

"Mention health care and mention Ted Kennedy," Reinharz said. "Mention minimum wage and mention Ted Kennedy. Mention education and mention Ted Kennedy. In fact, mention anything about social justice and mention Ted Kennedy."

Addressing the crowd, Kennedy joked, "It's nice to be with a president that I agree with."

"This is an extraordinary anniversary with leaders who contribute greatly to social justice and commonwealth across the nation," Kennedy said. "It's an honor to be a part of this."

Going through each era in history, Kennedy first gave listeners the background of the financial standpoint of the middle class.

"Because of these changes [in the middle class], progressives are having to fight battles won centuries ago, pretending the last 100 years never happened," Kennedy said.

According to Kennedy, between World War II and 1980 the income of families rose together, but in the 1980s, the numbers changed.

"The percent going to the middle class shrunk," Kennedy said. "The income of the wealthiest one percent increased by 200 percent. Middle class only raised their income by 15 percent, lower class nine percent. The number of Americans living in poverty is growing."

Kennedy argued that strong policies had to be made to solve these problems.

"Progress can erode if policy is abandoned," Kennedy said. "Unless we take necessary action now, future generations will ask what happened to the Great American Middle Class?"

As in other parts of his speech, Kennedy chose this time to mention Republican actions that have contributed to the nation's downfall.

"In reality, it is the Republican Right which is wedded to the past reactionary advocates about outdated ideas from a long time ago," Kennedy said. "We need an agenda that has the capability to meet and accomplish concerns for 21st century America based on renewed social contract."

Kennedy commended the Heller School for being a leader in social justice and focusing on, as the program for the weekend suggested, asset development.

Kennedy offered some solutions to help low-income families and keep the middle class from slipping down the economic ladder.

"We must create enlightened jobs and the government must realize this is their job," Kennedy said. "The United States needs to stop refusing to give healthcare to everyone."

Kennedy also reiterated several times the necessity of educating the youth.

"Young men and women are the greatest asset," Kennedy said. "It is cheaper to help them now then to ignore them later. There are enormous savings to help toddlers rather than rescue them later."

Other suggestions to help the country included returning tax rates for high brackets to where they were in the past, as well as creating more employment to ensure job security.

"Middle-class incomes make it so two jobs are necessary to obtain the same lifestyle as middle-class families previously enjoyed on one salary," Kennedy said. "[There is also] less free time to spend with children and there is no time off when a child is sick and no one to handle family problems."

Kennedy maintained that no person should have to choose between family and work. He said the issue of availability and affordable health care must be addressed because three million more Americans are living in poverty than a few years ago.

"Sixty-five percent of women are receiving minimum wage, so it's a women's issue," Kennedy said. "Many of those women have children, so it's a children issue. Most are people of color, so it's civil rights issue. Most of all it's not fair that people should live like this in the richest country in the world."

Kennedy argued that the wealthiest 10 percent of the nation holds two-thirds of the nation's wealth, so other people will never have the same life opportunities.

"Countries should be doing more to give children a better option to live the American dream," Kennedy said. "Targeted savings initiative is a realistic plan to create new life options in terms of asset building."

Questions after the senator's speech inquired about some of the biggest concerns for middle-class and low-income families in America. One audience member asked about a bill to destroy Head Start, a program to help low income families pay for childcare. Kennedy said this bill would not pass.

Another implored Kennedy to begin initiatives to close the gaps between genders and ethnicities. Kennedy spoke of past work and why the current government has done little to combat the problem.

"We have passed non-discrimination legislation," Kennedy said. "There is a particular need in training and education programs. We need to reach out to kids dropping out in school and the majority are of color. It needs a comprehensive approach and [we are] not even having a secretary of labor that is waking up in the morning thinking this is a problem."

Prof. Carmen Sirianni (SOC) asked about creating innovative community-based participation, particularly on environmental issues. Kennedy said he was a little paralyzed at the government level, but was looking for different ways to interconnect, ending with the suggestion that Sirianni follow up with him personally later.

As a last question before Kennedy rushed off to catch a plane, he calmed fears in the predominantly Massachusetts-based audience regarding same-sex marriages.

"I don't think [the amendment] will pass," Kennedy said. "I support the Massachusetts court decision and strongly oppose the constitutional amendment. They are losing steam and they have written and re-written it. I don't think it will pass and I will do what I can."

Other speakers that weekend included John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress and former White House Chief of Staff; William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard; Melvin Oliver, dean of Social Science at the University of California-Santa Barbara; and Robert Kuttner, editor of The American Prospect and a columnist for The Boston Globe.