[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 108 (Thursday, June 29, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9343-S9344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    JAMES D. WOLFENSOHN: BRILLIANT LEADERSHIP FOR THE KENNEDY CENTER

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is a privilege to take this 
opportunity to pay tribute to James Wolfensohn who is stepping down as 
chairman of the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center to accept 
President Clinton's appointment as the new chairman of the World Bank. 
Jim is a well-known and widely respected investment banker. During the 
course of his brilliant career, he has also earned an outstanding 
reputation as a persuasive advocate for the arts. So it was no 
coincidence that the Kennedy Center turned to Jim 5 years ago to become 
the chairman at the center. Despite his many commitments, Jim accepted 
this major responsibility and did a magnificent job.
  The Wolfensohn years brought the center into its own in fulfilling 
its intended role as a national performing arts center. Jim 
Wolfensohn's leadership developed a clear vision for this mission, and 
put the center on a sound financial basis. He improved and expanded the 
scope of its programming, and reached out to new audiences in the 
community. He has placed special emphasis on education programs. He has 
been instrumental in developing new dance initiatives for young people, 
commissioning new productions, and, most recently, establishing an 
international arts fellowship exchange program.
  The Kennedy Center is vastly improved as a result of Jim's 
chairmanship, and more Americans than ever from across the country will 
have greater opportunities to enjoy the impressive programs and 
productions that have resulted from Jim's work. I'm sure that President 
Kennedy would be proud of the new vitality and energy that Jim has 
brought to my brother's memorial here in Washington, and so are all of 
us in the Kennedy family.
  I know that Jim will bring the same excellence of vision and 
leadership to his new responsibilities at the World Bank, and I wish 
him well.
  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I am so very pleased to join with my fine 
colleagues in paying tribute to one great fellow, my friend, James D. 
Wolfensohn, as he takes on the tremendous task of being president of 
the World Bank. That is a capacity he is well suited for--it truly 
merges his vast expertise in finance, his marvelous capability in 
public service, and his generous and caring nature. I have no doubt at 
all he will be a good and powerful force at that institution. But he 
will certainly be deeply missed at the Kennedy Center.
  I have the richest and soundest respect for Jim Wolfensohn. He has 
worked doggedly on behalf of the Kennedy Center for the past 5 years--
and he loved it and he did it for free. His staff is aggressive and 
competent and under his very sharp eye and supervision--they have 
cultivated and nurtured the Kennedy Center into its original status as 
a first-class arts institution of rare and abiding quality.
  Jim truly stands head and shoulders above the rest--and above the 
fray. His splendid leadership will be sorely missed by those of us in 
the Senate who remain committed to ensuring the future of an appealing 
and vibrant Kennedy Center.
  God bless Jim and his bright and gracious wife Elaine as they embark 
on this new and vitally important mission.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, today I join with several of my colleagues 
in paying tribute to the outgoing chairman of the board of trustees of 
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Mr. James D. 
Wolfensohn. As many in the Senate are aware, Mr. Wolfensohn is leaving 
the Kennedy Center to become chairman of the World Bank.
  The Kennedy Center, a national monument and living memorial, could 
not have been blessed with a more talented and resourceful steward than 
James Wolfensohn. Mr. Wolfensohn came to the center more than 5 years 
ago with superb credentials and many remarkable accomplishments--so it 
is no surprise at all that he leaves the institution in far better 
condition than it was when he arrived.
  As the Washington Post editorialized on June 5, 1995,

       The Kennedy Center went looking for a new chairman in 1989 
     who could straighten out a place burdened with debts, 
     artistic confusion and a wobbly relationship with its own 
     trustees. Five years later, all those things have changed for 
     the better--in large measure because of the man the trustees 
     tapped--investment banker and former Carnegie Hall chairman 
     James Wolfensohn.

  Mr. President, I could not agree more with this assessment. In fact, 
I'd like to identify another area that Mr. Wolfensohn has worked hard 
on for the betterment of the Kennedy Center and numerous communities 
across the country--education and outreach. One of Mr. Wolfensohn's 
proudest achievements is the Kennedy Center's enhanced series of arts 
education programs.
  Under James Wolfensohn's leadership, the Kennedy Center is now making 
use of cutting-edge computer and telecommunications technology by 
working with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Education 
Department, teachers, schools, and parents across the Nation to 
establish an interactive arts information network. This and other 
computer-based projects will now link schoolchildren and adults alike 
to the enriching study and performance of fine arts.
  Locally, Kennedy Center staff and performing artists have increased 
their exposure to public schools in and around Washington, DC, by 
helping to integrate arts into the curriculum and by conducting more 
than 200 special performances for children and students.
  These are but a few examples of the Kennedy Center's desire to play a 
role 

[[Page S 9344]]
in the continuing effort to improve education. I want to credit Mr. 
Wolfensohn for placing such a high priority on the education side of 
the center's existence.
  Mr. President, as chairman of the Environment and Public Works 
Committee, I have come to be familiar with another Wolfensohn project--
reversing the decay and neglect of the Kennedy Center building. I am 
convinced that many in the Senate and around the country would be 
alarmed to know of this facility's physical condition.
  The Kennedy Center has welcomed more than 70 million people since it 
was opened in 1971. It is terrific that so many people from around the 
world have had the opportunity to visit the site--but much wear and 
tear has resulted. Many of the structure's mechanical systems have 
existed beyond their useful life--and have been rendered primitive by 
advancements in technology. In addition, numerous interior and exterior 
furnishments have fallen into severe disrepair. Why has this happened? 
In large part, because of an unclear division of responsibility.
  Until last year, the Park Service split responsibility with the 
Kennedy Center Board for operations, repairs, maintenance, and 
security. Now, as a result of Mr. Wolfensohn's 4-year efforts, the 
Kennedy Center Act Amendments of 1994 assigns these responsibilities 
and federal funding directly to the board of trustees. This legislation 
will now give the people closest to the problems, the board of 
trustees, the opportunity to solve them. This sensible allocation of 
duties would not have been possible without the diligence of James 
Wolfensohn.
  So, Mr. President, I would like to thank James D. Wolfensohn for his 
many contributions. From reconciling a debt--to expanding education 
programs--to attracting new world-class performing artists--Mr. 
Wolfensohn has been a tremendous Kennedy Center chairman. I wish him 
well in his new position at the World Bank and hope that he is able to 
continue an involvement with the John F. Kennedy Center for the 
Performing Arts.
  Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, as a member of the Kennedy Center Board 
of Trustees, I am pleased to extend my thanks and best wishes to James 
D. Wolfensohn as he prepares to leave the chairmanship at the close of 
the year.
  The vision of Jim Wolfensohn when he came to the Kennedy Center 5 
years ago was to see the center become the national center for the 
performing arts. Since l990, the Kennedy Center has developed into one 
of the strongest artistic presences in the country and continues to 
gain prestige throughout the world.
  Jim has secured for the center the artistic expertise of Leonard 
Slatkin and Placido Domingo. He has heightened the profile of the 
center through a vast array of educational programs operated through 
the center. He has worked diligently to stabilize funding for the 
center at a time when budgets in the private and public sectors are 
strained. The energy, enthusiasm, the wealth of knowledge and interests 
Jim Wolfensohn has brought to the Kennedy Center have all contributed 
to its rejuvenation for the benefit of the entire Nation.
  While the guidance of Jim Wolfensohn will be difficult for the 
Kennedy Center to replicate, the bittersweet timing of his departure 
was fortunate in one important regard. Jim was chairman long enough to 
see fully implemented during his tenure the Kennedy Center Fellowships 
of the Americas program.
  The program, envisioned and developed by Jim Wolfensohn, will provide 
20 fellowships annually to artists from central and South America to 
study at institutions across the United States. The first award 
recipients will be announced this fall. With the continued input of the 
program's founder, the distinguished program will no doubt gain 
international acclaim.
  Jim Wolfensohn will prove to be a stellar head of the World Bank. 
Assuming his new post will involve sacrifices for Jim, with time away 
from his family perhaps the most trying. But he took the position 
because, quite simply, he wanted to help people. I have no doubt he 
will succeed.
  Mr. President, a true leader inspires others to service through his 
own conduct and example. Jim is a superior leader and an extraordinary 
man. I am honored to call him my friend and wish him well in the years 
ahead.


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