[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 58 (Thursday, May 9, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4141-S4142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING DR. GEORGE RUPP, PRESIDENT OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Dr. George 
Rupp, a man who has served higher education and the city of New York 
well over his 9 years as President of Columbia University.
  As a proud alumnus of Columbia University, I wanted to share with 
Members of Congress some of the accomplishments of this fine leader, 
and to take this opportunity to salute Dr. Rupp. Columbia is one of the 
nation's most prestigious universities, and under Dr. Rupp's leadership 
it has only grown more so. In every area of the university's existence, 
from academic to administrative, fundraising and quality of life, Dr. 
Rupp has made a major impact. The legacy he has created sets a new 
standard in university administration.
  When he joined the administration in 1993, Dr. Rupp promised to put 
undergraduate education at the center of the institution. He committed 
his energies and the university's resources to doing precisely that, 
and Columbia College is in a much stronger position as a consequence of 
his efforts. High school students are applying to Columbia in record 
numbers and undergraduate admissions have more than doubled since 1993.
  Dr. Rupp introduced fellowships to attract professors to teach its 
celebrated core curriculum for undergraduates, anchored by contemporary 
civilization and humanities literature. Columbia's graduate programs in 
law, business, medicine, journalism, and the liberal arts have grown 
more competitive and are among the best in the world. Over the past 
nine years, four Columbia faculty members have been Nobel prize 
winners.
  Columbia has raised its profile in New York City and significantly 
improved relations with the surrounding communities of Morningside 
Heights, Harlem, and Washington Heights. Dr. Rupp has striven to make 
Columbia a good neighbor and involves community leadership in major 
construction projects. He also established a housing assistance program 
to encourage Columbia staff to purchase homes in these neighborhoods, 
which are part of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.
  Under Dr. Rupp's leadership, the university has added an 
architecturally distinguished student center, expanded student housing 
and built world-class research facilities. Columbia has also taken over 
the management of the Biosphere 2 Center in Oracle, AZ to expand the 
science of its Earth Institute. In addition, he has established the 
International Research Institute for Climate Prediction, a facility to 
direct advances in climate sciences to the benefit of societies around 
the world.
  Dr. Rupp, an ordained Presbyterian minister and a religious scholar, 
became Dean of Harvard Divinity School

[[Page S4142]]

at age 37, and then president of Rice University and president of 
Columbia University. He is a man of many talents and interests.
  For all these and many more reasons, I stand now to applaud his 
leadership at Columbia University, his dedication to this great 
institution, and to wish him great luck in the future. Columbia today 
embodies substantial forward momentum and is poised to achieve further 
advances in the years ahead.

                          ____________________