[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 45 (Friday, March 30, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING EVAN DOBELLE'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HARTFORD COMMUNITY

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                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 30, 2001

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to my 
colleagues' attention a true leader in the First Congressional District 
of Connecticut, and a good friend of mine, Dr. Evan Dobelle. For the 
past six years, Dr. Dobelle has served as the President of Trinity 
College in Hartford, Connecticut. In those six years, he has expanded 
that role of president of the private college to that of an effective 
leader in the surrounding urban community--transforming the outlook and 
prosperity of both the school and the community. It is now with 
bittersweet enthusiasm that I must wish Dr. Dobelle well as he embarks 
on his newest endeavor to become the President of the University of 
Hawaii.
  Never one to shy away from a challenge, Evan Dobelle began his 
commitment to the community in his twenties, serving two terms as the 
Mayor of Pittsfield, MA. At age 31, Dr. Dobelle was selected United 
States Chief of Protocol for the White House and Assistant Secretary of 
the State with the rank of Ambassador under the Carter Administration. 
Before assuming his position at Trinity College, he served as 
Chancellor and President of City College of San Francisco, and 
president of Middlesex Community College in Lowell, MA. He holds a 
bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in education and public 
policy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master's 
in public administration at Harvard University.
  In 1995, Evan Dobelle came to Hartford to serve as the eighteenth 
president of Trinity College; a school synonymous with rigorous 
academics, but also known for its location in economically depressed 
area of Frog Hollow. It is a picture of pristine academia located 
within the heart of one of Hartford's forgotten neighborhoods. With 
Trinity, Evan faced one of his toughest challenges. Not only did he 
have to enhance the quantity and quality of applicants, and increase 
Trinity's endowment, Evan was responsible for improving relations with 
the neighborhood surrounding the gates of Trinity. Recognizing the 
benefits that both the community and the school had to offer one 
another, Evan embraced the surrounding neighborhood and called upon 
both the community and the college to work in partnership for mutual 
improvement. While successfully achieving the goals outlined for 
enrollment and endowments, Dobelle also used his innovation and 
leadership to play a vital role in orchestrating and executing the 
Learning Corridor, a $250 million neighborhood redevelopment project, 
consisting of four public elementary schools, a boys and a girls club, 
a center for family services, a limited housing renovation, and 
effectively satisfying the third requirement of his presidency and 
creating a national model. It is for this accomplishment he will be 
remembered so fondly for by the people of the city of Hartford.
  The Learning Corridor redevelopment project has been one of the most 
celebrated and successful ventures the City of Hartford has seen. It is 
due largely in part to the dedication and leadership of Dr. Evan 
Dobelle. In his six years as president of Trinity College and a 
resident of the City of Hartford, Evan Dobelle has become an 
inspiration to his adopted community in Hartford.
  Dr. Dobelle has gone beyond the call of duty and done a tremendous 
job not only for Trinity College, but the entire city of Hartford. I 
commend him for his excellent work, and wish him the best, as I know he 
will give nothing less than that to the students of the University of 
Hawaii and its surrounding communities.

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