[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 59 (Tuesday, May 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4741-S4742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   FIFTH CLASS OF INDUCTEES INTO THE CONNECTICUT WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate the 
fifth class of inductees into the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. 
These five women gained recognition in fields of nature, justice, the 
arts, and finance and represent the best of my state and of our nation.
  I want to take this opportunity to speak about each of this year's 
inductees.
  Dorrit Hoffleit, a resident of New Haven, Connecticut, has 
established herself as a premiere astronomer through her work as senior 
researcher at Yale University. For over seventy years she has studied 
astronomy and has received an undergraduate degree from Radcliffe in 
mathematics and a doctorate from Harvard. Her interest in stars began 
early in her childhood when she saw two stars collide.
  During World War II, Professor Hoffleit worked as a mathematician at 
the Ballistic Research Laboratories at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in 
Maryland. It is here that she felt the effects of being a female in a 
male-dominated field. She was paid less for doing the same work as her 
male colleagues. In fact, despite her doctorate she still received a 
sub-professional ranking. However, she protested this treatment and as 
a result was given her due rank and ultimately transferred to 
Washington.
  In 1956, she went on to direct the Maria Mitchell Observatory in 
Nantucket, Mass. Her work there helped to provide women with more 
substantial opportunities in astronomy. An indication of her success is 
that twenty-five percent of the students who worked with Professor 
Hoffleit have gone on to become professional astronomers.
  As a member of the Yale research faculty, Professor Hoffleit has made 
immense academic contributions to her field. She is most renowned for 
her two star catalogs. Her most well known catalog, The Bright Star 
Catalogue, has been defined as ``the bible of virtually every stellar 
astronomer.''
  Despite retiring from Yale over twenty years ago, Professor Hoffleit 
continues to go to work every day. In these past twenty years, she has 
not drawn a salary. She is dedicated to educating her colleagues and 
future astronomers, rather than promoting herself and her career. As a 
result of her profound selflessness and service, the effects of her 
efforts will be as limitless as the stars she has spent a lifetime 
studying.
  A second inductee is Judge Constance Baker Motley. Born in New Haven, 
Connecticut, Judge Motley first became interested in civil rights after 
being denied admission into a local public beach and skating rink.
  After graduating from high school, she was unable to afford college, 
so she worked for $50 a month refinishing furniture. She continued to 
be active and to voice her beliefs, despite her inability to further 
her education. A local philanthropist, Clarence Blakeslee, heard her 
speak at the Youth Council in 1939, and he was so impressed with her 
that he offered to pay for her education. She graduated from New York 
University in 1943, and three years later received her law degree from 
Columbia University.
  After graduating from Columbia, she worked full time for the Legal 
Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, under then chief counsel 
Thurgood Marshall. She worked there for twenty years as a staff member 
and associate counsel and she was known for her impressive skill as an 
oral advocate. During her time at the Legal Defense and Educational 
Fund she argued before the Supreme Court ten times, winning nine 
appeals. She is renowned for her work with Thurgood Marshall and others 
on the landmark Brown versus Board of Education case.
  Judge Motley entered politics in 1964, serving in the New York State 
Senate. In 1965 she became the first woman to serve as a City Borough 
President. During this time, she worked on ways to improve the inner-
city through better housing and schools. In 1966, she became the first 
African-American woman to be appointed to a federal judgeship in the 
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. As a federal 
judge she continued to break new ground. In 1982 she was made chief 
judge and in 1986 was appointed senior judge. Neither position had ever 
been held by a woman before her.
  Judge Motley's work for justice over five decades has been 
responsible for some of the most extraordinary changes in American 
culture during our history. She has received many awards and honorary 
degrees for her immense contributions to civil rights and the legal 
profession.
  A third inductee is Rosa Ponselle. Born Rosa Melba Ponzillo, she was 
a first generation American, the daughter of Italian immigrants who 
settled in Meriden, Connecticut. She began studying music and singing 
at age ten. Her musical break came at eighteen when she auditioned for 
the great opera legend, Enrico Caruso. Immediately after auditioning, 
she was cast in the role of Leonora in the Metropolitan Opera's staging 
of Verdi's ``La Forza del Destino.'' She remained loyal to the 
Metropolitan throughout her career, and she spent all but four seasons 
of her nineteen-year career performing there. In fact, she was the 
first American-trained singer to star at the Metropolitan.
  Ms. Ponselle shocked the opera world when she retired in 1937. She 
dedicated the remaining forty-four years of her life to helping train 
and teach aspiring young operatic youths. One of her most notable 
students was Placido Domingo. She also served as the artistic director 
of the Baltimore Civic Opera Company. She died in Baltimore in May 
1991.
  Her voice was said to exude a blend of youthfulness and maturity and 
she remains an inspiration to opera students and audiences worldwide.
  Lillian Vernon, another inductee, is a resident of Greenwich, 
Connecticut. She is the founder and CEO of Lillian Vernon Corporation. 
She entered the industry of mail order catalogues in the 1950's when it 
was dominated by industry moguls such as Richard Sears and A. 
Montgomery Ward. The company, which began in 1951, was one of the first 
to offer personalized merchandise by mail. The corporation was the 
first company founded by a woman to be publicly traded on the American 
Stock Exchange.
  Ms. Vernon also does a great deal of charity work. She serves on the 
boards of various non-profit organizations, including the Kennedy 
Center, Lincoln Center, New York University's College of Arts and 
Science, and the Children's Museum. She has been honored for her work 
as a business leader and community activist. She received the Ellis 
Island Medal of Honor, the Big Brothers-Big Sisters National Hero 
Award, and the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame Award. Ms. Vernon is a 
remarkable entrepreneur, businesswomen, and role model.
  The final inductee is Mabel Osgood Wright. She was a resident of 
Fairfield, Connecticut and was the founder and President of the 
Connecticut Audubon Society. Wright established the first bird 
sanctuary in the United States, naming it Birdcraft. She founded the 
sanctuary around the turn of the century, fearing that bird life was 
being gradually eradicated.
  Wright saw conservation education as a key element to sustaining 
wildlife. She wrote many books in an effort to introduce children to 
nature appreciation and conservation. She published a field guide to 
New England birds in 1895. During this time, the Audubon movement was 
still young and was lacking public support. Through her involvement she 
helped to revive the organization on the state level. Aside from 
serving as President of the Connecticut Audubon Society, she served as 
an officer of the national group and as an editor and writer for Bird 
Lore magazine.
  It is said that Wright was unique in the environmental movement. This 
is because she was a nature writer as well as a community leader and 
her message focused not on the protection of our national parks but the 
preservation of our backyards, our gardens, and our bird sanctuaries. 
She believed the best way to preserve nature was through teaching 
children how to do it.

[[Page S4742]]

  Although she died in 1935, her message lives on at the Birdcraft Bird 
Sanctuary which remains a museum containing exhibits of Connecticut 
wildlife and providing frequent tours for school children.
  All five of these inductees are richly deserving of this award. I am 
pleased, indeed, that their remarkable lives will now become better 
known to the people of Connecticut and the United States for 
generations to come.

                          ____________________