[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1856]]
 TRIBUTE TO CLAIRE GAUDIANI ON THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF HER TENURE AS 
                    PRESIDENT OF CONNECTICUT COLLEGE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SAM GEJDENSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 1, 1998

  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Claire 
Gaudiani as she marks her tenth anniversary as President of Connecticut 
College in New London, Connecticut. President Gaudiani is an 
extraordinary academic, administrator and community activist who 
embodies the very best qualities of America. I am honored to call her 
my friend.
  President Gaudiani came to Connecticut College from Purdue University 
in 1988. Over the past decade, she has made an indelible impact on the 
institution. Under her leadership, the college has dramatically 
expanded academic programs, including creating four new academic 
centers: the Centers for Community Challenges; Conservation Biology and 
Environmental Studies; Arts and Technology; and International Studies 
and the Liberal Arts. She spearheaded a campaign which has quadrupled 
the school's endowment. Today, Connecticut College is recognized as one 
of the leading liberal arts institutions in the nation.
  Although her work as Connecticut College is truly impressive, 
President Gaudiani is much, much more than a university president. She 
is arguably the most articulate voice today on behalf of restoring 
civility to our society. Throughout much of our history, Americans 
helped their neighbors in need--communities built barns, families took 
in strangers displaced by natural disasters, and people gave whatever 
they could, even when they had very little, to fellow citizens who had 
fallen on hard times. Community was not merely a place where people 
lived, it embodied a sense of togetherness and common purpose. Civil 
discourse was not an abstraction but a way of life.
  Unfortunately, as President Gaudiani has written: ``Evidence is 
mounting that our national reservoir of good will toward each other is 
running out like water from a leaky bucket.'' Today, as so many rush to 
accomplish an ever growing list of tasks, we often forget to take time 
to lend a helping hand to our neighbors or to put the interests of our 
city, town or country ahead of our own. In an alarming example of how 
people are withdrawing from our most important national discourse--our 
electoral process, participation rates in national elections are at 
all-time lows.
  President Gaudiani is leading a national effort to restore civility 
to society and to encourage all of us to work on behalf of the common 
good. She is a member of the National Council for a Civil Society based 
at the University of Chicago. She has written numerous articles and 
given speeches coast to coast discussing how the nation can achieve 
this goal. She has put this vision into practice at Connecticut College 
by creating the Center for Community Challenges, which offers students 
a wide array of opportunities to engage in community service, and the 
Institute for a Civil Society, which brings together non-profit 
organizations, businesses and government to encourage civic 
participation. Moreover, President Gaudiani has been courageous enough 
to challenge the nation's leaders ``to stop widening the private rifts 
that separate us and call us to renew the values that can unite our 
public life.'' These are words each of us should take to heart when the 
politics of division appear to be overcoming the politics of inclusion.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe the most extraordinary characteristic which 
distinguishes President Gaudiani is her commitment to her community--
New London. Working with local elected officials, businesses, community 
activists and residents, President Gaudiani has helped to lead a 
renaissance in the city of New London as the President of the New 
London Development Corporation. Claire Gaudiani didn't have to take 
this job. She had more than enough to do at Connecticut College to keep 
her very busy. She accepted this position because the Corporation is 
focused on renewing the community in the larger sense. Although this 
effort is strongly focused on economic renewal, it encompasses a wide 
array of initiatives designed to improve quality of life, restore civic 
pride and bring every sector of the community--political, cultural, 
ethnic and racial--together in pursuit of a common goal.
  I am proud to say that this effort has been a resounding success. 
Earlier this month, several hundred people gathered to celebrate the 
fact that Pfizer, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies 
which is based in southeastern Connecticut, will develop a $220 million 
state-of-the-art research facility in New London. This project will 
create as many as 2,000 jobs over the next decade and will be the 
centerpiece of a revitalized riverfront area. New London will be one of 
several sites in the United States to host OpSail 2000--the largest 
tall ship and maritime event in history--in July 2000.
  Although these projects are exciting, the overall effort led by 
President Gaudiani has created a new sense of community spirit and 
pride. Residents, businesses, civic groups and others have a new 
appreciation of the common bonds that unite them. People are coming 
together in pursuit of common goals and with a renewed commitment to 
strengthening the entire community.
  Mr. Speaker, I take great pride in congratulating Claire Gaudiani on 
her tenth anniversary as President of Connecticut College. Her 
commitment to academic excellence and civic renewal is an example for 
all of us. I wish her continued success as she embarks on her second 
decade in New London.

                          ____________________