[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 6 (Monday, February 4, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO VICTOR SWENSON

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, for more than twenty-eight years 
it has been my pleasure to know and work with Victor Swenson in many 
efforts to promote the humanities at the State and national levels. On 
February 1, 2002, Victor retired as the Executive Director of the 
Vermont Council on the Humanities, a leadership role he has effectively 
filled since the Council's inception in 1974. Today, I rise to express 
my gratitude for his dedication and service to all Vermonters.
  Every State has a humanities council, but few are as innovative, 
creative, and self-sufficient as the Vermont council on the Humanities. 
Early on, under Victor's stewardship, the Vermont Council determined 
that the first step in broadening Vermonters' participation in 
humanities programming was ensuring that all Vermonters were able to 
read. This undertaking, creating a state in which every individual 
reads, participates in public affairs, and continues to learn 
throughout life, involves an enormous commitment. It is a self-imposed 
and ambitious challenge that the Council has taken on completely. The 
Council has distinguished itself as a national leader in promoting 
reading.
  Victor's work with the Council has been so successful and has enjoyed 
such a long tenure that it would be impossible to discuss one without a 
complete mention of the other. Throughout this long association, Victor 
has held an unfading belief that the humanities can and must be used to 
improve life in meaningful ways. Victor believes rightly that all 
Vermonters benefit from any investment in the humanities, and the 
Council has been his vehicle for advancement. In January 1974, Victor 
set up office in Hyde Park, VT, with a budget of $140,000. His first 
two grants were to the Crossroads Humanities Council in Rutland, VT, 
and to the Vermont Historical Society. As with those first two grants, 
the Council has used its position to challenge the people of Vermont to 
enrich their lives locally through the humanities. The Council has 
worked for the preservation of historic papers and documents, the 
creation of reading programs, initiatives to improve teachers' 
abilities in teaching the humanities and many, many other meaningful 
projects.
  The importance of Victor's influence in Vermont for more than a 
quarter of a century cannot be overemphasized. I congratulate Victor on 
his retirement and I sincerely wish him the best of luck in whatever he 
may do next.

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