[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 64 (Monday, May 22, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4230-S4231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND UNIVERSITY COLLEGE 
                       OVERSEAS MILITARY PROGRAM

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I want to offer my 
congratulations and

[[Page S4231]]

very best wishes to all those gathered at the 50th Anniversary 
celebration of the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) 
serving the United States military in Europe. I am pleased to take part 
in recognizing the longstanding tradition that this institution 
continues to uphold in ensuring quality higher education for our 
servicemembers overseas.
  It has always been my firm belief that a democracy cannot prosper and 
grow without an educated populace, and therefore the education of the 
individual is one of the most important tasks in our society. The 
success and growth of UMUC is a critical testament to the importance of 
educational opportunities for our military personnel in Europe. From 
its inception, this institution has viewed higher education from a 
global perspective, an approach which has put UMUC at the forefront of 
the larger higher education community.
  Following World War II, when the United States military invited 
American universities to provide higher educational programs to 
servicemembers at military installations throughout Europe, UMUC was 
the only institution to respond. This began a historic 50 year 
partnership with the military in Europe and starting in 1956, in Asia 
as well. The noted British scholar Arnold Toynbee wrote that the UMUC 
program in Europe is ``an American achievement from which the rest of 
the world has much to learn.''
  Since the first year, UMUC has offered educational opportunities to 
hundreds of thousands of our men and women overseas. Even now, it is 
wonderful to hear that this tradition continues in many locations at 
long established military installations in Germany, Britain, Italy, and 
Spain including temporary facilities in Kosovo and Bosnia.
  I commend the University of Maryland University College for its 50 
year history of unparalleled service and success in the field of 
education and I look forward to a continued close association with this 
exemplary institution.

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