[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 19 (Thursday, February 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO RAUL A. BESTEIRO, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 1997

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me 
in commending Mr. Raul A. Besteiro, Jr., an adjunct professor with the 
alternative certification program at the University of Texas-
Brownsville, for his recent election to the presidency of the Southern 
Association of Colleges and Schools [SACS]. He was elected to this 
position at SACS' annual gathering in Nashville, TN, in December, after 
38 years of membership.
  SACS is a voluntary agency, one of six regional accrediting 
organizations in the United States. It boasts a membership of more than 
11,000 accredited public and private educational institutions, from 
colleges and universities to elementary schools. The organization was 
founded in 1895, and works with schools across the South from Virginia 
to Texas.
  As president of this prestigious organization, Mr. Besteiro will lead 
the formulation of policy for accreditation of the region's member 
schools and colleges. He was chosen to lead this association by virtue 
of his hard work on behalf of schools, children, and education over the 
years. He has been actively involved with the association's process of 
ensuring that member institutions meet established standards.
  There is no one who can do a better job with this great 
responsibility than Raul Besteiro. Mr. B., as he is affectionately 
known throughout south Texas, has spent his adult life dedicated to the 
excellence of schools in Brownsville and to the cause of education in 
general. Mr. B. was an integral part of the Brownville Independent 
School District from 1958 to 1989, as a teacher, an administrator, and 
a superintendent.
  He has proven himself to be a unique educator for the community of 
Brownsville with the example of his life's work. That dedication to 
education continues within the realm of his new position. In the 101 
year history of SACS, Raul Besteiro is both the first Texan--and the 
first Hispanic--to lead the organization.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Raul for his life's work 
in the field of education. I hope you will join me in wishing him well 
as he furthers the cause of education as the president of SACS.

                          ____________________