[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 86 (Thursday, June 30, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        A TRIBUTE TO DR. WALTER WASHINGTON: WHAT MANNER OF MAN?

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
outstanding Mississippian and great American, Dr. Walter Washington, 
the president of Alcorn State University, in Lorman, MS. Dr. Washington 
retires today after 25 years of service to Alcorn State University, and 
some 46 years of dedicated service to this country, and the State of 
Mississippi. He has distinguished himself in the fields of higher 
education, State government, and community relations.
  There are countless citizens across this country whose lives have 
been touched and enhanced by Dr. Washington. In his lifetime, he has 
been a classroom teacher, a principal, a dean, and a president of a 
junior college and a university. His deep interest in challenging and 
training our future leaders has given him a distinct place in higher 
education. I have known Dr. Washington since I first served in the 
House of Representatives, and I would like to pay him homage, and share 
with my colleagues, what manner of man he is.
  Dr. Walter Washington is a native of Hazelhurst, MI. He attended 
public elementary and secondary schools in the State. He received the 
bachelor of arts degree from Tougaloo College; the master of science 
degree from Indiana University; the education specialist degree from 
Peabody College; the doctoral degree from the University of Southern 
Mississippi; and a certificate from the Institute for Educational 
Management at Harvard University.
  Dr. Washington holds membership in a number of professional and civic 
organizations. He is married to the former Carolyn Carter, a retired 
professor from Alcorn State University.
  I am proud to share with my colleagues in the U.S. Senate the notable 
fact that Dr. Washington has served as a college president longer than 
any other individual in the Nation. In addition, the university he has 
guided for a quarter of a century has a special connection to the 
Congress. Alcorn State University was established in 1871, under the 
Morrill Act, and is the oldest historically black land-grant 
institution in America. The very first president of Alcorn State 
University was a Member of this body, the Honorable Hiram Revels. 
Senator Revels, was the first African-American to serve in Congress, 
and he also was a Mississippian.
  Dr. Washington and Alcorn State University both have amassed a record 
of achievement. They both have a staunch commitment to the very best in 
education. As president of Alcorn State University, Dr. Washington made 
many significant contributions. I would like to highlight a few of the 
many accomplishments from his administration, which he leaves as a rich 
legacy.
  Dr. Washington worked to make the university financially sound.
  The university's budget increased from $4 million in 1969 to 
approximately $32 million in 1993.
  He established the Alcorn State University Foundation which currently 
has assets in excess of $4.3 million with an endowment of $3.3 million.
  Outside funds to the university now total more than $11 million 
annually.
  The value of the physical plant increased from $8 million in 1969 to 
$60 million in 1993 with the addition of 16 new facilities at the 
university.
  In spite of serious budget cuts, as much as 28.3 percent in 1986, the 
university never experienced a deficit during Dr. Washington's tenure.
  Dr. Washington pushed to expand the university's academic offerings 
and research capabilities.
  He garnered support from the Mississippi legislature to establish a 
branch of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station 
on the campus of Alcorn and garnered support from the Mississippi 
legislature to directly fund agricultural extension and research for 
the first time in the university's history.
  Dr. Washington implemented higher standards of achievement for the 
university with the results being expanded growth:
  Alcorn State University was the first historically black institution 
in Mississippi to increase its requirements for admission;
  Enrollment reached the largest in the university's history with 3,244 
students in the fall of 1991;
  Strengthened faculty with approximately 50 percent now holding earned 
terminal degrees;
  Worked successfully to have five areas of the curriculum 
professionally accredited;
    
    
  Established the School of Nursing;
  Established the General College of Excellence; and
  Established the School of Graduate Studies offering master's and 
specialist degrees.
  Dr. Washington is the manner of man whose principles, judgment, and 
leadership have earned him a special place in the halls of professional 
education that is undisputed. His indelible mark in that field is a 
tribute in itself. I congratulate him on his outstanding record of 
service to Alcorn State University, the State of Mississippi, and this 
Nation, and I wish him a wonderful and active retirement.

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