[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 23, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      TRIBUTE TO LEVI WATKINS, SR.

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, higher education in the State of Alabama 
lost one of its greatest supporters on March 3 when former Alabama 
State University president Levi Watkins, Sr., died at the age of 83. He 
served at the helm of Alabama State from 1962 until 1981, a time of 
both unparalleled turbulence in education as well as dramatic progress. 
As difficult as these times were for our State and region, he did not 
see his mission as a burdensome one. In a statement made some 11 years 
before his death, Watkins said that he had been privileged to be right 
in the middle of, as he called it, the greatest turmoil in this 
century.
  The school was known as Alabama State College when Levi Watkins, a 
Kentucky native, became its president in 1962, the same year that 
George Wallace was first elected governor. By the time he left 19 years 
later, Alabama State had become a fully accredited university with 12 
new buildings and a dramatically increased student enrollment. During 
his tenure, he placed a great emphasis on financial accountability, 
saying at the time of his appointment that he respected the taxpayer's 
right to get at least a dollar's value on each dollar invested in 
Alabama State College.
  Watkins' commitment to total accountability went beyond finances, 
however. He fought hard for Alabama State and never failed to accept 
responsibility when things went wrong. He never passed the buck, and 
his shoulders supported the weight of both credit and blame. He was a 
consummate advocate for his school.
  Levi Watkins was the kind of administrator who any school would be 
proud to call its own. He made the tough decisions, even when they were 
unpopular, and did what he had to do to ensure that students, faculty, 
and university officials were treated fairly. Although he fully 
supported the civil rights movement, Levi never lost sight of his or 
Alabama State's primary mission of educating young blacks.
  During the turbulent days of the movement, Alabama State emerged as a 
refuge for the demonstrators. Later, as was the case on campuses all 
across the Nation, more militant students turned against the 
administration, forcing Levi to close the school for 2 weeks in 1969. 
But the National Guard never intervened. His was a delicate balancing 
act, for he was committed to the progress being sought by the civil 
rights movement, but at the same time, he understood the importance of 
obtaining the State funding crucial to his university's mission.
  Levi had the charisma and finesses to secure vital resources for a 
black college in a State like Alabama. He was even able to work with 
then-Governor Wallace in getting the required funding for Alabama State 
to be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 
1966.
  I extend my condolences to Levi's wife, Lillian Varnado Watkins and 
their six children, who include a teacher, principal, two surgeons, a 
lawyer, and a research specialist with an earned doctorate. Their 
father's dedication to higher education obviously was not lost on his 
children. They are all living testaments to his rich legacy.

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