[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 145 (Tuesday, November 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1982-E1983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF DR. DONALD C. HARRISON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 12, 2002

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Dr. Donald 
Harrison, a friend and community leader, who will retire as Senior Vice 
President and Provost of the University of Cincinnati (U.C.) Medical 
Center next year.
  Since 1986, Don has been at the helm of the U.C. Medical Center. Don 
was recruited from Stanford University, where he held a number of 
positions while working as a researcher and clinician for 23 years. 
Under Don's 16 years of leadership, the U.C. Medical Center has become 
a world-class teaching and research institution.
  One of the important reasons for Don's success has been his ability 
to recruit outstanding medical professionals who are among the best and 
brightest in the world. With his team, he developed a new concept for 
U.C. and the University Hospital as a health system. This helped 
position the U.C. Medical Center as a major medical facility in the 
nation to provide research education and patient care for the next 
century.
  As one of his early accomplishments, Don was key in the 1990s in 
helping to save University Hospital, which faced a financial crisis and 
could have cost Cincinnati one of its most important hospitals. At the 
same time, Don was looking ahead to turn the Medical Center into one of 
the most prominent research institutions in the world. Don headed up 
the Reaching for the 21st Century plan which aimed to markedly increase 
research in heart disease, cancer, neurosicences as well as in 
perinatal and neonatology. During Don's tenure, research funding 
increased from $30 million annually to $209 million over this past 
year. The more recent Millennium Plan adds diabetes to its research 
focus areas. As part of the Millennium Plan, the existing Medical 
Sciences building will be renovated and expanded and the Genome 
Research Institute will be established.
  During Don's tenure, U.C. Medical Center's programs and experts have 
become increasingly well known and respected for health sciences, 
research, education and patient

[[Page E1983]]

care. And in addition to offering excellent health care to those in the 
Cincinnati area, the Medical Center has been shown to have an annual 
$3.05 billion economic impact on our area. These successes can be 
attributed to Don's vision and hard work over the years.
  Don also is an entrepreneur and, among his accomplishments, he 
established BioStart at the Medical Center to give researchers a place 
to nurture their work to a point where it may become commercially 
viable. Throughout his career, Don also continued his work as a 
practicing, world renown cardiologist.
  Mr. Speaker, Don has had a profound impact on the lives and economy 
of Greater Cincinnati, boosting the national reputation of the U.C. 
Medical Center and improving the health care available to people in the 
Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana tristate region. The medical research 
conducted at the Medical Center under Don's leadership also has 
enhanced the health care available to people across our nation and 
throughout the world. All of us in Southwestern Ohio are grateful to 
Don for his contributions to our community, and we wish him well as he 
steps down from his post as Senior Vice President and Provost of the 
U.C. Medical Center.

                          ____________________