W. Cleon Skousen is stepping down as president of the National Center of Constitutional Studies.
Skousen, 76, made the announcement Saturday morning during the institute's third annual Defender of the U.S. Constitution prayer breakfast. Skousen founded the educational institute in 1971 (known then as the Freemen Institute) to promote the revival of constitutional principles and the restoration of free-enterprise economics.He will become chairman emeritus of the institute and plans to lecture on constitutional issues on behalf of Brigham Young University.
A graduate of George Washington University Law School, Skousen worked 16 years for the FBI. He was Salt Lake police chief from 1956 to 1960 and taught religion at BYU for 10 years.
More than 1 million people have attended the center's seminars on the U.S. Constitution.
Skousen has written 29 books, including "The Naked Communist," which went on sale in 1958 while he was police chief. It has sold more than a million copies and has been published in several languages.
Skousen says he considers "The Making of America," a 850-page book on substance and meaning of the Constitution, as one of the greatest achievements of his long career of political activism. He spent 14 years researching and writing the book.