[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 7, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S1085]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 41--RELATIVE TO THE GEORGE WASHINGTON 
                               UNIVERSITY

  Mr. INOUYE submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                            S. Con. Res. 41

       Whereas on February 9, 1821, the United States Congress 
     chartered Columbian College (renamed The George Washington 
     University in 1904);
       Whereas President James Monroe signed The George Washington 
     University's charter and attended the University's historic 
     first commencement ceremony;
       Whereas Congress adjourned to join President Monroe for The 
     George Washington University's first commencement ceremony;
       Whereas in 1825 The George Washington University added a 
     medical curriculum with facilities that throughout the 
     following years have contributed greatly to the Nation, 
     including conversion of its teaching infirmary into a 
     military hospital during the Civil War;
       Whereas from that time forward, The George Washington 
     University's medical facilities have provided treatment to 
     patients ranging from kings and presidents to the indigent 
     and the homeless;
       Whereas The George Washington University has in its 175 
     years contributed to the educational, cultural, and political 
     enrichment of the Nation through its synergistic associations 
     with the Federal establishment and its branches and agencies;
       Whereas The George Washington University is now the largest 
     higher education institution in the Nation's capital, 
     providing educational services to some 19,000 undergraduate, 
     graduate, and professional students annually;
       Whereas The George Washington University has rendered 
     continuing and exemplary service to the country through the 
     achievement of its educational mission; and
       Whereas The George Washington University's distinguished 
     alumni hold prominent positions in business, law, government, 
     medicine, and the arts and sciences: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) The George Washington University has been and continues 
     to be of exceptional importance to the Nation; and
       (2) the importance of The George Washington University 
     should be recognized and celebrated through regular 
     ceremonies.

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about my alma mater, 
the George Washington University, chartered by the Congress of the 
United States 175 years ago, on February 9, 1821.
  Those of us who have a George Washington University degree--whether 
it be in law, medicine, engineering, education, business, or 
international affairs--have reason to celebrate this occasion. What was 
once merely a university of convenience usefully located in the 
Nation's capital, has in our own time taken its place among the premier 
institutions of higher learning in the country.
  Among this illustrious company, few have had such unpromising 
beginnings. Some universities come into being endowed by land grants or 
can boast a distinguished founder like a John Harvard or a Thomas 
Jefferson. The George Washington University--or Columbian College, as 
it was called when the Congress chartered it in 1821--owed its origins 
to an obscure Baptist clergyman named Luther Rice. Today, 175 years 
later, it has achieved a name recognition that is international in 
scope, drawing students and scholars from all quarters of the globe. 
The university takes great pride in its distinguished graduates, among 
them: John Foster Dulles, J. William Fulbright, Gen. Billy Mitchell, 
Gen. Colin Powell, Gen. John Shalikashvili, and Jacqueline Kennedy 
Onassis, to name a few.
  I had the privilege of receiving my law degree from the George 
Washington University. My experiences during my legal studies were 
largely responsible for my decision to enter public life and run for 
elective office. I am grateful that I had the opportunities that come 
from studying and living in the Nation's capital as a young man.
  It is with great pleasure that I submit today a resolution in 
celebration of the 175th anniversary of the George Washington 
University's illustrious role in our Nation's academic and political 
lives.

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