[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO DR. CHARLES NATHANSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2003

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the life 
of a valuable San Diego leader, Dr. Charles Nathanson. He was a unique 
individual because he developed the capacity to create dialogue among 
important leaders of differing views on the critical issues of our 
region.
  Chuck was valued not only by a host of San Diego's leading citizens 
but also by those in Baja California and our metropolitan partner 
Tijuana.
  At the University of California San Diego in 1991, Chuck founded the 
San Diego Dialogue, which brought over 150 regional leaders together on 
a frequent basis for panel discussions on the challenges to our 
community. He fostered the binational Forum Fronterizo Council, which 
held well-attended bilingual luncheon meetings to hear distinguished 
speakers from both sides of the border.
  Baja California Governor Eugenio Elorduy Walther, co-Chairman of the 
Forum Fronterizo Council, quoted in a local newspaper obituary, 
recognized Dr. Nathanson as ``the spark plug'' of San Diego Dialogue as 
its Executive Director.
  President of San Diego State University, Stephen Weber, also noted, 
``He understood we can never be separated from our friends and 
neighbors in Mexico . . .''
  While his work building human bridges across our international border 
was his best known focus, he also volunteered his skills to create 
dialogue between the opposing sides on San Diego issues and gave 
endless personal energy to resolve differences. He formed a 
distinguished panel of city leaders, leading educators, and legislators 
to develop a common understanding of the critical issues we faced 
locally in education.
  As both a journalist and a professor of Sociology, Chuck understood 
the importance of facts and of making those results part of public 
discussion. Realizing that basic information was critical to good 
educational decisions, he found the resources to have his staff 
undertake an important study of how minority parents interact within 
their school community.
  I particularly appreciate that Dr. Nathanson sponsored a study of the 
reasons people cross the border into San Diego. It showed that many 
people repeatedly enter San Diego for education and shopping, and this 
led to the development of a fast-track, electronic inspection lane 
called SENTRI. Indeed, I am currently working on legislation to 
expedite access to this successful program.
  He was hailed in the local press by Robert Dynes, the Chancellor of 
the University of California San Diego, as serving ``town and gown 
superbly as strategist, ambassador, activist and taskmaster.''
  Born in Detroit August 22, 1941, Charles E. Nathanson graduated from 
Harvard and worked as a journalist and manager of a chain of weeklies 
before earning a doctorate in sociology at Brandeis University.
  The broad spectrum of his interests included serving on a number of 
cultural and civic boards addressing the breadth of issues affecting 
the future of the region including education, business, transportation, 
and housing. Typically, he had become a member of the advisory group 
for one of San Diego's newest projects, development of the Immigrant 
Museum of the New Americas.
  San Diego and Baja California have been uniquely served by this 
determined visionary. Chuck Nathanson has left an indelible heritage 
for our region.

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