[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 54 (Thursday, May 4, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S3507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                 THE RETIREMENT OF DR. RICHARD J. HALIK

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Dr. 
Richard J. Halik, who is retiring after 34 years of dedicated service 
to the Lansing, Michigan, School District. A graduate of Eastern High 
School in Lansing himself, Dr. Halik has enjoyed a successful career as 
a student, teacher, and administrator in the Lansing School District, 
and his efforts as Superintendent have played a large role in bringing 
the Lansing Public School system into the new millennium on a 
successful note.
  After receiving his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Western Michigan 
University in 1966, Dr. Halik took a position as a seventh grade 
science teacher at Otto Middle School. In 1970, he was named Supervisor 
of federally funded Title I programs operating in the district at the 
time, and in 1972 he became Director of Federal and State Programs for 
the Lansing School System. After serving as Principal of Gardner Junior 
High School in 1979-80, Dr. Halik was promoted to the position of 
Elementary Education Director in 1981, and the following year became 
Assistant Superintendent for Instruction. On July 1, 1985, he was named 
Superintendent of the Lansing School District, and he has held this 
post ever since.
  Dr. Halik has been an active member of the Lansing community his 
entire life. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Sparrow Health 
System Board of Directors, and as Vice President of the Hinman 
Endowment Fund Board of Directors. In addition, he sits on the Board of 
Directors of several other local organizations, including the Greater 
Lansing Area Advisory Council, the Lansing Area Safety Council, the 
Estes Palmer Foundation, the Urban Education Alliance, and Junior 
Achievement. He is also on the Advisory Board of the Lansing Area 
Safety Council, the Corporate Board of the Boys and Girls Club of 
Lansing, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lansing 
Educational Advancement Foundation.
  Dr. Halik is a member of Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church and the Lansing 
Host Lions Club, and has served as President of the latter group. He 
has also served as President of the Middle Cities Education Association 
and the Lansing Association of School Administrators. In 1978, he 
represented the State of Michigan at the National Institute of 
Education as advisor on the relationship of the Michigan Compensatory 
Education Program to ESEA Title I, and in 1993 he was a recipient of 
the National Leadership Award from the Institute for Education 
Leadership.
  Dr. Halik's contributions to the Lansing School District, and to 
Michigan's education community in general, are truly immeasurable. I 
would like to thank him for his dedication and many efforts over the 
last thirty-four years. His leadership during this time has been 
exceptional and will be dearly missed. On behalf of the entire United 
States Senate, I congratulate Dr. Richard J. Halik on a wonderful and 
successful career, and wish him the best of luck in retirement.

                          ____________________