[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E116-E117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  TRIBUTE TO BILL AND CLAUDIA COLEMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 6, 2001

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I wish to honor Bill and Claudia 
Coleman for donating the largest gift ever given an American public 
university--$250 million--to the University of Colorado to be used to 
fund advanced research and development of innovative technologies to 
enhance the lives of people with cognitive disabilities.
  Today, approximately 20 million persons, or 7 percent of the U.S. 
population experience significant cognitive disabilities, such as 
mental retardation, autism, severe and persistent mental illness, 
traumatic brain injury, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease.
  Based on the Coleman's generous donation, the University of Colorado 
will establish the

[[Page E117]]

Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities. The Institute will focus 
on education, research, and the development of new technology and 
software programs to improve the quality of life for the cognitively 
disabled.
  The Coleman Institute at the University of Colorado, which will 
include all four campuses of the University, will help bring together 
many areas of engineering, medical and biomedical, clinical and brain 
research necessary to make a significant advance in understanding 
cognitive disabilities and developing future generations of assistive 
technology devices.
  I commend University of Colorado President Elizabeth Hoffman for her 
vision in making the Coleman Institute the international center of 
excellence in developing adaptive assistive technologies, based on 
advanced biomedical and computer science research, for people with 
cognitive disabilities.
  This unprecedented gift is a tribute to the Colemans' generosity and 
vision, as well as to the University's growing reputation for work in 
developmental disabilities and assistive technology.
  I am proud to represent the University of Colorado's Boulder campus, 
and I look forward to aiding the Coleman Institute for Cognitive 
Disabilities in realizing Bill and Claudia Coleman's worthy goal.

                          ____________________