“For me, civility is — first and foremost — seeing the value and dignity of every single person including those who disagree with you, finding what voters in their respective districts saw in them, and then, through those relationships that you build, modeling for the people that you represent the kind of citizenship that a democracy truly and genuinely requires,” McBride said.

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, McBride is currently serving her second term representing the state senate’s first district, which includes Claymont, Bellefonte and parts of Edgemoor and Wilmington. In November 2024, she won the election for Delaware’s at-large congressional district and will succeed U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Shupe, a UD alumnus with a bachelor of arts in political science and a native of Milford, Delaware, shared that his strong sense of civility was fostered early on by his parents, recalling their consistent modeling of active citizenship by stepping up to help others and show up for the greater good of the community regardless of personal differences. It also manifested later in life through working in, starting and running several small businesses alongside his wife. 

“When you’re in small business, you don’t have the time and you do not have the opportunity to create divisions,” he said. “You've got to meet the demands and get the money in the door and get the paychecks out the door so families can be fed.”

Shupe, who was elected mayor of Milford in 2014 and to the Delaware General Assembly in 2018 to represent the 36th district, which includes South Milford, Ellendale and Slaughter Beach, credits the City of Milford’s nonpartisan mayoral office with further developing his passion for bringing people together despite differences.

“In an atmosphere or environment as local as being the mayor of my hometown, when you start embracing civility and talking with more people and start to get more people on the same page, you can actually accomplish things very quickly and it’s very rewarding,” he said. “I really tried to embody that civility that I found in Mildford and bring it to the state.”

SB195 was ultimately born out of a desire for state-level response to the rapid evolution of the news media landscape, providing tools for K-12 learning that results in our youngest citizens growing into critical thinkers and discerning consumers of information online.

“You can’t have a democracy if you can’t have a national dialogue. You can’t have a shared set of facts,” McBride said. “It is like having two different teams on the same field, one is playing football and one is playing baseball. Eventually, you’re going to run into each other and you’re going to hit each other.” 

“As we teach 16-year-olds to drive, they go through courses, we don’t just hand them over the keys. We don’t want to do the same thing with social media,” Shupe said. “I think that parents in general will appreciate that their children are learning how to check sources.”

McBride recalled a point in the process where she offered Shupe an out to remove his name from the bill after he received pushback from members of his party. She didn’t want his support to cost him politically.  

His answer was simple: “Absolutely not. This is the right thing to do.”

“Talk about profiles in courage,” McBride said. “That is not always something you see in politics and in legislating.”

Previous award recipients include U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) in 2023 and Delaware State Representatives Michael Smith (R) and Valerie Longhurst (D) in 2022.

To learn more about the Biden School’s SNF Ithaca Initiative and its work to advance democracy through civil discourse, visit udel.edu/bidenschool/snfithaca

About the UD Biden School

Established in 1961 and named in 2018 for the University of Delaware’s most distinguished alumnus, the 46th president of the United States, the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration prepares students with the knowledge and skills necessary to engage in research and public service activities to improve the quality of life in communities around the world. The Biden School’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni create and use interdisciplinary, nonpartisan research, and empirically based analysis to inform effective decision-making and policy and to improve leadership and administration. The Biden School partners with organizations from all sectors to discover innovative and equitable solutions to the critical challenges of our time.

Follow and engage with @UDBidenSchool on Facebook, Instagram and X, and connect on LinkedIn to stay updated on the latest with research initiatives, academic activities and more.

About the SNF Ithaca Initiative

SNF Ithaca, an initiative of the University of Delaware's Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration, seeks to advance democracy by equipping students with the civil discourse and civic engagement skills necessary to navigate the mediated public square. Supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), SNF Ithaca is named after the home of Odysseus—one of Greek mythology's greatest heroes. For Odysseus, Ithaca represents not only the beginning of a journey but the ultimate destination. Likewise, the SNF Ithaca Initiative serves as both the beginning of the Biden School students' journey toward becoming engaged and effective citizens and as the ultimate destination for students across the country to come together and develop the civil civic engagement skills that will strengthen our democracy.