[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2858-S2859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RETIREMENT OF THE CHANCELLOR OF VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, JOE B. WYATT

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on April 29 the Vanderbilt 
University community will honor Joe B. Wyatt, who will retire this 
summer after a long and distinguished career as Chancellor of that 
prestigious university. I rise today to pay tribute to Chancellor 
Wyatt. His significant contributions have not only benefitted the 
Nashville campus, but also have had a very positive impact on the State 
of Tennessee and, indeed, our entire nation.
  Joe Wyatt's tenure as head of Vanderbilt, which extends back to 1982, 
has been marked by substantial growth at the University: new 
construction and renovation on campus; tremendous expansion of the 
renowned Medical Center; major increases in the levels of research 
grants; and a quantum leap in the university's endowment.
  Today, Vanderbilt University and Medical Center is the largest 
private employer in Middle Tennessee and the second largest in the 
state. It generates an estimated annual economic impact of more that 
$2.2 billion to the area. Among the 19,000 Vanderbilt alumni who live 
in Middle Tennessee are numerous leaders in business, government, law, 
education and medicine. And many of these young men and women were 
handed their diplomas by Joe Wyatt before moving on to make a mark in 
their chosen fields.
  Equally important, Mr. Wyatt's stewardship has been marked by the 
academic and intellectual growth of the University. He has helped 
attract a world-class faculty that is consistently recognized 
nationally and internationally for its research and teaching 
excellence. In addition, he recognized, earlier than most, the 
potential impact of new technology on our society and education, and he 
facilitated the development of research programs that cut across 
various academic disciplines, reflecting changes in the real world and 
maximizing the University's academic resources.
  Personally, in making my own decision of whether to come to 
Vanderbilt to join the staff at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as 
Assistant Professor in cardiothoracic surgery, it was Joe Wyatt's 
support of a vision of establishing a multi-organ, multi-disciplinary 
transplant center at Vanderbilt that encouraged me to come back to 
Nashville. His commitment to seeing that vision become a reality led to 
the establishment of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center which since that 
time has served thousands of patients throughout the Southeast.
  During Joe Wyatt's 18 years of service at Vanderbilt, the university 
has evolved steadily from a highly regarded regional institution to a 
truly national institution, widely known for its excellence in a wide 
array of undergraduate and graduate fields. Today, it is among the top 
ranks of research universities in the United States, with a student 
body that represents all 50 states and more than 90 foreign countries.
  Chancellor Wyatt is widely regarded today as a senior statesman of 
the research university community. His deep commitment to higher 
education issues is exemplified by his participation in, and leadership 
of, many national advisory groups and policymaking organizations. For 
example, he has served the last two years as chairman of the 
Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable of the National 
Academy of Sciences. He also is the current chairman of the 
Universities Research Association and chairs a blue ribbon panel on 
quality standards for the non-profit organization, New American 
Schools. In addition, he serves on the Business Higher Education Forum, 
the Council on Competitiveness and the Advisory Committee of the Public 
Agenda Foundation.
  Mr. President, Joe B. Wyatt has made contributions in many areas, but 
I think his greatest legacies will be in the following three areas:
  First, he has fostered greater communication and cooperation among 
the three sectors most involved in our nation's unique research 
enterprise--universities, the federal government and industry.
  Chancellor Wyatt is the Chairman of a group at NSF devoted to 
bringing government, universities and businesses together in a 
collaborative effort to improve our nation's research effort.
  Second, he has promoted increased awareness of the great 
responsibility of our schools of education to ``teach the teachers'' 
who prepare America's youth for the challenges of tomorrow.
  Chancellor Wyatt supported a controversial provision in the Higher 
Education Act of 1998 to hold colleges of education accountable for 
their students' performance as teachers. This provision, and Chancellor 
Wyatt's deep commitment to improving our nation's colleges of 
education, will have a lasting impact not just on higher education, but 
on our entire elementary and secondary school system.
  Third, he has generated, through personal example, renewed commitment 
to volunteer community service by all members of the university 
community.
  Today, Vanderbilt undergraduates are engaged in volunteer programs in 
unprecedented numbers. It was no accident that, when they recently came 
to say farewell to Vanderbilt alumni in the Washington, DC, area, Joe 
and Faye Wyatt spent the day at an inner-city elementary school, 
working alongside 75 alumni in a reading and storytelling program with 
local third-graders.
  I include for the Record an article from the Vanderbilt Register On-
Line. The article further details Joe B. Wyatt's many accomplishments 
over a span of nearly two decades as Chancellor of the University. 
Throughout this period, he has maintained a sharp focus on two things 
that really matter . . . two things that are enduring in our society: 
quality education of our nation's youth and service to the broader 
community. And he has done so with honor, decency and credibility.
  We wish Joe and Faye Wyatt the very best, and give them heartfelt 
thanks for their service to Vanderbilt University.
  The article follows:

       Joe B. Wyatt, Vanderbilt University Chancellor, 1982-2000

       When Alexander Heard retired in 1982, the board named Joe 
     B. Wyatt to succeed him. As Chancellor, Wyatt sought to place 
     Vanderbilt in the very top tier of American universities.
       Wyatt, a Texan, holds degrees in mathematics from Texas 
     Christian University and the University of Texas. He was vice 
     president for administration at Harvard University--and 
     father of a Vanderbilt sophomore--when he was selected as 
     Vanderbilt's sixth Chancellor. As a computer scientist and 
     executive, he brought to the University his concept that 
     information technology is a strategic resource of 
     accelerating global importance in education, research and 
     patient care.
       In addition to his influence in technology, Wyatt pushed 
     the University community to unprecedented levels of 
     involvement in volunteer community service. Alternative 
     Spring Break was founded in 1987 by a handful of students 
     with Wyatt's support. In spring 1999, more than 300 
     undergraduates participated in the program's 22 domestic and 
     three international sites. With funding from the Chancellor's 
     discretionary fund, the non-profit Break Away: The 
     Alternative Break Connection was founded in 1991 by 
     Vanderbilt graduates to help colleges across the country 
     start alternative spring breaks. Today, half of all 
     Vanderbilt undergraduates are engaged in volunteer programs, 
     and the number of service organizations has exploded.
       The term ``national university'' has taken on an expanded 
     meaning under Wyatt. He has led a national effort to improve 
     elementary and secondary education in the nation's public and 
     private schools, and at home he has made the Vanderbilt 
     student body the most diverse in history. Students hail from 
     all 50 states and 91 foreign countries. Minority enrollment 
     in Vanderbilt's four undergraduate schools has nearly tripled 
     in the past 10 years. In the fall of 1999, minority students 
     accounted for almost 20 percent of the undergraduate 
     population, as compared to slightly less than 7 percent in 
     1987, while the overall enrollment has remained fairly 
     constant. Over the same period, the number of minority 
     students in the graduate and professional schools continued 
     to increase.
       In 1989, for the first time, Vanderbilt's undergraduate 
     programs were ranked among the top 25 national universities 
     overall in the U.S. News & World Report survey, placing 24th. 
     Vanderbilt continues to be ranked in the top 25, placing 20th 
     in 1999. In U.S. News' 1999 graduate school rankings, Peabody 
     College was ranked sixth among schools of education; the Owen 
     Graduate School of Management was ranked 25th among business 
     schools; the law school was ranked 16th; and the School of 
     Medicine was ranked 16th.

[[Page S2859]]

       During Wyatt's term as Chancellor, the Medical Center 
     expanded most dramatically, now accounting for more than 70 
     percent of the University's income and expenses and employing 
     almost half of the full-time faculty, more than half of the 
     part-time faculty, and the majority of staff.
       Since 1982, Vanderbilt has acquired or built one-third of 
     the campus--more than four million square feet of mostly new 
     construction. This does not include the one million 
     additional square feet of renovations to existing facilities, 
     and major projects on the drawing board.
       Wyatt spent much of the early '90s working with trustees 
     and staff in The Campaign for Vanderbilt, the most ambitious 
     fund-raising effort in the institution's history. This latest 
     campaign, which ended in 1995, raised $560 million. Now, 
     because of the work of Wyatt and others, Vanderbilt has an 
     endowment of $1.8 billion. Its operating budget has grown to 
     $1.3 billion. Sponsored research has more than quadrupled 
     since 1981, from $42 million to $214 million, placing 
     Vanderbilt 33rd among U.S. colleges and universities in 
     federal research and development funding, according to the 
     National Science Foundation.
       One of Wyatt's most significant accomplishments as 
     Chancellor has been the improvement in the quality of 
     Vanderbilt's faculty. The criteria for faculty appointment, 
     promotion and tenure have been strengthened twice during his 
     administration, making it clear that excellence in 
     scholarship, teaching and service are required for all 
     members of the faculty. The number of endowed faculty chairs 
     has increased from 39 in 1982 to more than 100 today, and 
     faculty salaries have continuously increased as well.
       On April 23, 1999, Wyatt announced that he would retire as 
     Chancellor in July 2000.

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