[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E539]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CUPA 50TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______


                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 16, 1996

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge an association 
that has had a significant impact in the advancement of higher 
education human resource management--the College and University 
Personnel Association [CUPA], which celebrated its 50th anniversary on 
April 11, 1996.
  The association was started by a visionary named Donald E. Dickason, 
a former director of nonacademic personnel at the University of 
Illinois at Champaign in 1946. At that time, Dickason invited 
representatives from more than 50 post-secondary institutions in the 
Midwest to a forum to discuss problems unique to higher education 
personnel administration. He envisioned an Association that would 
provide timely information and support to help foster leadership among 
personnel administrator. He envisioned an Association that would 
provide timely information and support to help foster leadership among 
personnel administrators and growth among institutions. The 44 
individuals who attended the meeting agreed and thus CUPA was born.
  I first became aware of CUPA when I sponsored H.R. 127, the Employer 
Provided Education Assistance Act to reinstate the exclusion from 
income for employees who receive compensation for education expenses 
from their employer. As many colleges and universities use this 
valuable training and re-training tool to help their personnel keep on 
the cutting edge of new technology and information in various education 
fields, CUPA has helped to lead the charge in trying to reinstate this 
important provision to the tax code.
  It is in this tradition that CUPA promotes effective management and 
development of human resources in higher education by providing a forum 
for the exchange of ideas and providing valuable information and 
services to its membership on the national, regional, and chapter 
level.
  Among the functions CUPA provides is the distribution of information 
critical to expanding and enhancing the higher education human resource 
management profession through publications and other actions. CUPA 
provides such support and assistance to help its membership understand 
and comply with various federal laws and regulations such as the Civil 
Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act [ADEA], the 
Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA], and the Family Medical Leave Act 
[FMLA] to name just a few. By providing this valuable information in a 
timely and professional manner, CUPA helps to ensure their members are 
living up to both the spirit and the intent of these important worker 
right and protection laws.
  CUPA has grown from the original 44 individuals who attended the 
first meeting in 1946 to 6,100 human resource administrators 
representing more than 1,800 colleges and universities and other 
institutions interested in the advancement of the human resource 
profession nationwide.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the many 
accomplishments of CUPA, in congratulating them on 50 years of 
excellence, and in wishing them well in their next 50 years of service.

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