[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5885-S5886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    DR. STEPHEN R. PORTCH: CHANCELLOR, UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I rise before you on this day to 
recognize the outstanding achievements, hard work, and dedication of 
Dr. Stephen R. Portch, the ninth Chancellor of the University System of 
Georgia. This day should be both celebrated and lamented, for it is a 
delight to honor my good friend, Chancellor Portch, yet saddening to 
bid the Chancellor farewell.
  John Stuart Mill, a revered philosopher, political scientist, and 
educator, left an indelible mark on his students at the University of 
St. Andrews in Scotland, where he once said, ``There is nothing which 
spreads more contagiously from teacher to pupil than elevation of 
sentiment: Often and often have students caught from the living 
influence of a professor a noble ambition to leave the world better 
than they found it;'' This is just what Chancellor Portch has done; he 
has helped make the world a better place. As a professor of English 
Literature Dr. Portch has enriched and inspired the lives of many 
individuals. He has awakened students' dormant interest in literature 
and the world around them. Together with the Georgia Board of Regents, 
the governing body of the University System, Dr. Portch has continued 
to promote education and has made tremendous improvements to the 
Georgia University System.
  Chancellor Portch, a native of Somerset, England, earned his 
Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Reading in England, 
and a Master's and Ph.D in English from Penn State. Richmond University 
in England granted Dr. Portch an honorary doctorate, and he was named 
by Change, The Magazine of Higher Learning as one of its ``21 Most 
Influential Voices.'' Georgia Trend magazine has repeatedly identified 
Dr. Portch as one of the most powerful and influential citizens in our 
State, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle placed Dr. Portch on its list 
of the ``100 Most Influential Atlantans.'' Dr. Portch served on former 
U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley's National Commission on the 
High School Senior Year. Stephen R. Portch has been a familiar and 
lauded name in the literary world and has become a very well recognized 
and respected name in Georgia.
  The University System and the Georgia Board of Regents are committed 
to improving higher education, and in 1994, under Dr. Portch's 
leadership, the Board adopted the program, ``Access to Academic 
Excellence for the New Millennium.'' In 1995, Chancellor Portch

[[Page S5886]]

introduced another new policy directed at the need for reform in an 
effort to recognize that all sectors of education are vitally linked 
and that improvement in one sector requires a reciprocal effort in all 
other sectors. Dr. Portch implemented a new admissions policy, raising 
the bar for admissions in all 34 public institutions in Georgia. The 
work of Chancellor Portch has helped elevate the average SAT score in 
Georgia public institutions, increase member school salaries by over 35 
percent, and has raised overall quality of education throughout the 
state.
  Henry Brooks Adams once said, ``A teacher affects eternity; he can 
never tell where his influence stops.'' Although Dr. Portch is stepping 
down as Chancellor of the University System, I assure you that we will 
continue to feel his presence and benefit from his service well into 
the future.

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