[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 167 (Friday, December 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15230-S15231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        GEORGIA BOARD OF REGENTS

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I rise before you today to 
recognize the outstanding achievements and hard work of the Georgia 
Board of Regents. This dedicated group of men and women has committed 
itself to improving higher education in the state of Georgia and I am 
proud of their accomplishments. As John F. Kennedy said, ``Our progress 
as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education.''
  Over the past five years, the Regents have developed a commitment to 
bring the Georgia higher education system into the new millennium 
through strategic planning and sweeping vision. In October of 1994, 
just as Dr. Stephen Porch was officially inaugurated as the University 
System's ninth Chancellor, the Board adopted the first step of a new 
program, ``Access to Academic Excellence for the New Millennium.'' The 
Board called for Georgia's public colleges and universities to be 
recognized for first-rate education, leading edge research and 
committed public service. The Board's new statement took into account 
input from various student groups, University and Regent presidents, 
and leaders in the education community.
  Later that same year, the Regents adopted a new set of guiding 
principles to serve as the foundation for future policy making and 
modified the affiliated graduate degree structure. This cleared the way 
for institutions throughout the state to offer graduate programs 
autonomously, collectively, or under shared authority.
  In March of 1995, Chancellor Porch introduced another new policy 
direction to address the need for ``co-reform'' of public education in 
the state. This reform was an effort to recognize that all sectors of 
education are fundamentally linked and that improvement in one sector 
requires a comprehensive effort of all sectors. Governor Miller's 
support of this initiative became a critical element in its success and 
he appointed a statewide Council to implement the directive.
  Throughout 1995, the Board of Regents continued to see successes in 
its effort to improve the delivery of education throughout Georgia. In 
June, the Board introduced a new admissions policy with the goal of 
breaking the cycle of low admissions expectations and inadequate 
college preparation. The new admissions policy aimed to make such 
changes in two ways: fostering more effective preparation of students 
before they are accepted for admission; and broadening the admissions 
evaluation process to look beyond single quantitative measures such as 
standardized test scores.
  In 1996, the Board approved the framework for a new core curriculum, 
just eight months after the first meeting of the Advisory Committee 
meeting. The committee was charged with redesigning the original core 
curriculum--a redesign that focused on a multidisciplinary effort that 
maximizes the resources of a particular institution.
  All of these efforts came together in December of 1997 when the Board 
gave final approval on the University System's new admissions policy. 
This approval included policy on admissions for students without a high 
school diploma and outlines specific courses that fulfill the College 
Preparatory Curriculum requirements.

  In August of 1998, Chancellor Porch began a tour of all 34 System 
institutions. He travelled to update faculty, staff, students and 
elected officials as well as local communities on the progress the 
University System had made over the past four years, and the work that 
remains to be done to create a more educated Georgia.
  By this fall, the members of the Georgia Board of Regents saw the 
fruits of their labor. SAT scores of students entering the University 
System were up, and a survey of state business leaders showed their 
satisfaction with the quality of the University had increased from two 
years prior. Plans to increase access to technology were drafted, and 
an effort to be even more responsive to the educational, economic and 
fiscal needs of the state was committed. As Ben Franklin once said, 
``An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.'' How true 
that is.
  I once heard Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund say 
that ``service is the rent each of us pays for living.'' I want to 
thank the men and women of the Georgia Board of Regents for their 
service and dedication to the higher educational system in the great 
state of Georgia. We will all benefit from your efforts.
  At this point, I would ask to include in the Record the names and 
hometowns of the distinguished Georgians who have served on the state's 
Board of Regents from January 1993 to the present.
  The material follows:

       Thomas F. Allgood, Sr. of Augusta; Shannon L. Amos of 
     Columbus; John Henry Anderson, Jr. of Hawkinsville; David H. 
     (Hal) Averitt of Statesboro; Juanita Powell Baranco of 
     Lithonia; James E. Brown of Dalton; Kenneth W. Cannestra of 
     Atlanta;

[[Page S15231]]

     Connie Carter of Macon; John Howard Clark of Moultrie; S. 
     William Clark of Waycross; J. Tom Coleman of Savannah; W. 
     Lamar Cousins of Marietta; Joel Cowan of Peachtree City; A.W. 
     ``Bill'' Dahlberg of Atlanta; Suzanne G. Elson of Palm Beach, 
     FL; Dwight Evans of Gulfport, MS; Elsie B. Hand of Pelham; 
     Joe Frank Harris of Cartersville; Hilton H. Howell, Jr. of 
     Atlanta; George Hunt of Tifton; Edgar Jenkins of Jasper; 
     Warren Y. Jobe of Atlanta; Charles H. Jones of Macon; Donald 
     M. Leebern, Jr. of Columbus; Elridge W. McMillian of Atlanta; 
     Martin W. NeSmith of Claxton; Barry Phillips of Atlanta; 
     Edgar L. Rhodes of Bremen; William B. Turner of Columbus; 
     Glenn S. White of Buford; Virgil R. Williams of Stone 
     Mountain; Joel O. Wooten, Jr. of Columbus; and James D. Yancy 
     of Columbus.