Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, and David L. Cohen, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees and senior executive vice president of Comcast Corporation, are among 16 private citizens named to the United States Semiquincentennial Commission, which will plan for the 250th anniversary in 2026 of American independence.

“By law, the Commission will convene its meetings at Independence Hall in Philadelphia,” according to USA250, the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit planning for the United States Semiquincentennial. “Its recommendations will give special emphasis to locations of historical significance to the United States, to individuals who have made a significant impact on the nation’s development, and to the ideas that have advanced the ‘quest for freedom of all mankind.’”

Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators, Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, and Pennsylvania representatives Patrick Meehan, Robert Brady, Brendan Boyle and Ryan Costello were instrumental in establishing the Commission. Casey, Toomey, Brady and Meehan are also members of the Commission board.