[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 46 (Wednesday, April 12, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H2184-H2185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              COMMEMORATION OF THE LIFE OF HERMAN B. WELLS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Wilson). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pease) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. PEASE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of 
Herman B. Wells, the 12th president of Indiana University, and the only 
person to serve that institution on three different occasions as its 
chief executive officer.
  In 1937, he was appointed acting president. From 1938 to 1962, he was 
president; in 1968 he was interim president; and from 1968 to 2000 he 
served as chancellor. He died in Bloomington on March 18 and was buried 
the next week

[[Page H2185]]

in Jamestown, Indiana, his ancestral home.
  Part of Monroe County, where Indiana University is located, and all 
of Boone County, where Chancellor Wells was laid to rest, are in my 
district, the seventh, of Indiana. As the representative of that 
district in Congress, it is my privilege, indeed my honor, to mark with 
pride the life and contributions of this amazing son of Indiana. As one 
whose personal life was also touched by this wonderful man, I am 
humbled by the realization that it was in part his influence on my life 
that made it possible for me to be here in the well of the House to 
share these thoughts.
  Though he would undoubtedly object to the personal characterization, 
observing the work of so many others, Herman B. Wells transformed 
Indiana University from a modest Midwestern State institution of 11,000 
students to a world-class institution of research, service, and 
teaching with more than 30,000 students in Bloomington, the main 
campus, and more than 80,000 students on eight campuses across the 
State. His insistence on academic excellence from faculty and from 
students, and his willingness to actively support the excellence he 
encouraged, resulted in the development of one of the world's finest 
schools of music, the attraction of eminent scholars, including Nobel 
laureates, the development of one of the finest collections of rare 
books in the world, and much more. He was a fierce defender of academic 
freedom, as witnessed among other things by his steadfast support of 
the Kinsey Institute, at its time one of the most controversial 
research centers in the Nation.
  He has served on more national and international cultural, 
educational, and development commissions and agencies and been honored 
by more national governments, nongovernmental organizations, and 
international entities than I can list in the time allotted me today. 
Suffice it to say that he was a man of incredible vision, equally 
incredible talent, and a commitment to humanity that transcended race, 
gender, religion, and national borders.
  Yet he never lost the personal touch, grounded in his intense 
interest in each human being he met as simply a person and, thereby, 
imbued with an innate dignity that warranted treatment with respect. 
And that is, in the final analysis, what made this man a giant in 
American education and culture.
  Chancellor Wells once listed what he calls his ``Maxims for a Young 
College President, or How to Succeed Without Really Trying.'' His 
autobiography, ``Being Lucky,'' derived its title from the list, where 
he said, ``My first maxim is, be lucky.''
  Perhaps he was, though I suspect that he made more of his luck than 
just happened to come his way. I know this, though, that those of us 
who attended his Indiana University, and especially those of us who, 
like me, came to know him personally, were most assuredly lucky; and 
our lives have been enriched in ways we could never before have 
imagined as a consequence of our contact with him.
  From the nationally and internationally recognized faculty in whose 
classes I studied, to the fraternity system based on the finest 
traditions of ethical behavior that he fostered and from which I 
benefited, to an enduring idealism and assuredness in the future that 
imbued the IU campus, even in the midst of the difficulties of the late 
1960s and early 1970s, my life has been shaped in many ways by my 
experiences at Indiana University. And everyone who experienced Indiana 
University was touched by Herman Wells.
  Chancellor Wells often said that it is not what you do that counts; 
it is what you help others to do that makes progress. I know no finer 
example of this maxim than the chancellor himself. Indiana has lost one 
of its greatest sons. I have lost a mentor and friend. And yet our 
grief at this inestimable lost is assuaged by the realization that the 
university he helped build endures as one of the world's great 
institutions, stamped with his principles and personality. And for 
those of us who knew him personally, there is the memory of the sparkle 
in the eye, the engagement of the intellect, and the smile in the heart 
that was and remains Herman B. Wells.
  With apologies to the lyrics of our alma mater for this temporary 
emendation, ``He's the pride of Indiana.'' We loved him, we will miss 
him, we are better because of him.

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