[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 19, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. WALLACE CONERLY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROGER F. WICKER

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 19, 2003

  Mr. WICKER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to an 
individual whose dedication and contributions to my home state of 
Mississippi are exceptional.
  Dr. A. Wallace Conerly has devoted his career to public service. A 
native of Tylertown, Mississippi, Dr. Conerly graduated from Millsaps 
College in 1957, and went on to receive his M.D. from Tulane University 
in 1960. He served six years in the United States Air Force until his 
honorable discharge with the rank of Major. Since 1973, Wally has 
dedicated his time to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 
Jackson, Mississippi.
  He held the title of Assistant Vice Chancellor for 13 years until 
obtaining the title of Chief Executive Officer in 1994. As the CEO of 
the state's only academic health sciences center, he leads an 
institution of 7200 employees with an annual budget of more than 
$610,000,000.
  Dr. Conerly has directed a $335 million building program, the largest 
in the history of higher education in Mississippi, including a new 
children's hospital, a new women and infant's hospital, a new 256 bed 
adult hospital and a critical care hospital, along with a host of new 
facilities for the School of Nursing, the School of Health Related 
Professions and the Medical Center complex.
  He created a campus-wide Office of Research in 1998 to further 
enhance the Medical Center's research mission. Since that time, grant 
and contracts awarded to the Medical Center have more than tripled--
from approximately $12 million to more than $40 Million annually. He 
spearheaded the Medical Center's efforts to get national Heart, Lung 
and Blood Institute funding for the Jackson Heat Study, the project 
that will follow cardiovascular risk factors in African-Americans for 
decades.
  Wally Conerly has worked hard to make the Medical Center a more 
diverse environment. He has expanded the institution's efforts to 
recruit and retain minority students. He was successful in securing 
funding for 12 full scholarships designated for African-American 
students in the School of Medicine. The scholarships, worth 
approximately S25,000 annually to the student, also have helped keep 
these promising young students in Mississippi--where they are now more 
likely to practice. Wally also has worked to increase the Medical 
Center's number of minority employees at the professional level through 
aggressive recruitment efforts. Currently, 35 percent of UMC's 
employees in that category are minorities; approximately 45 percent of 
the Medical Center's total work force is minority. In 2001, Minority 
Access, Inc. recognized the Medical Center as a ``National Role Model 
Institution'' for these achievements. Dr Conerly has enriched the lives 
of Mississippians and enhanced the national prominence of the Medical 
Center resulting in better health care for our citizens.
  In August 2002, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson 
appointed Dr. Conerly to a four-year term on the Board of Regents of 
the National Library of Medicine. He is the first Mississippi an to 
serve on the prestigious body. Dr. Conerly has served on the Board of 
Directors of the American Red Cross, Mississippi Chapter and the 
Capital Area United Way. He is past president of the Rotary Club of 
Jackson and past chairman of the Board of Governors of the University 
Club. He is on the boards of the Metro Jackson Chamber of Commerce, 
Junior Achievement, the Jackson Medical Education District, the 
Community Bank and it's a member of the Community Advisory Council of 
the Junior League of Jackson. In 2001, the Mississippi Division of the 
Multiple Sclerosis Society honored Dr. Conerly with the Hope Award. He 
also received Millsaps College's ``Alumnus of the Year'' award in 2002, 
and he and his wife Frances Bryan Conerly were recognized as the 2002 
People of Vision by Preserve Sight Mississippi. Wally and Frances are 
the proud parents of two sons, Al and Charlie.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend this extraordinary man and my 
dear friend for his superior service and thank him for his strong 
commitment to helping the citizens of Mississippi.

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