[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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   REGARDING THE RETIREMENT OF TALBERT O. SHAW AS PRESIDENT OF SHAW 
                               UNIVERSITY

 Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, I am pleased today to pay tribute 
to a remarkable North Carolinian, Talbert O. Shaw.
  Dr. Shaw is retiring this year as president of Shaw University after 
a groundbreaking 15 years in which he helped this noble institution 
regain its footing and once again become a beacon of knowledge, 
opportunity and service for the people of North Carolina and beyond.
  Dr. Shaw was born in Jamaica, the ninth of 10 children. He served as 
a minister in Jamaica and the Bahamas before moving to the U.S. in the 
1950s. After earning his master's degree and doctorate in ethics from 
the University of Chicago, Dr. Shaw taught religion and ethics for 10 
years before becoming interim dean of the Howard University Divinity 
School in Washington D.C. He then served as dean of arts and sciences 
at Morgan State University for 11 years.
  Dr. Shaw left his comfortable position at Morgan to heed an urgent 
call from Shaw University, the oldest historically black university in 
the South. The University had fallen on hard times and was in dire 
financial trouble. The school had no endowment, there was not enough 
money to pay day-to-day expenses. Enrollment was down. No one would 
have blamed him if he had passed up this challenge. But he didn't pass 
it up--he took it on.
  Rallying students, faculty, and the community with his slogan 
``Strides to Excellence: Why Not the Best,'' Dr. Shaw worked tirelessly 
to turn around the school's fortunes. And thanks to his leadership, 
Shaw University is once again a shining light. Enrollment is up, debts 
are paid and the endowment is now $15 million. Seventy percent of the 
faculty have Ph.Ds. Because of his belief that ``education of the heart 
is just as important as the education of the heads and hands,'' he has 
incorporated values and ethics into the Shaw curriculum. Thanks to the 
efforts of Dr. Shaw and his outstanding faculty and staff, Shaw 
students are receiving an education second to none.
  Dr. Shaw has also found time to contribute to the community. Among 
other things, he serves on the board of the Wade Edwards Learning 
Laboratory, an after-school program that my wife and I started and has 
offered invaluable service to the young people we serve.
  We are sorry to see Dr. Shaw leave but we in North Carolina wish him 
and his wife, Marlene, many, many years of happiness and health as they 
take on future challenges together.
  In striving for excellence, Dr. Shaw asked, ``why not the best?'' 
Fortunately, that's just what he gave us. Thank you, Dr. Shaw, for a 
job well done. You are an inspiration to us all.

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