[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 173 (Monday, November 24, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15810-S15811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            DR. TOM GOODWIN

 Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to one 
of Arkansas's and America's preeminent educators, Dr. Tom Goodwin of 
Hendrix College. Dr. Goodwin was honored last week with a United States 
Professor of the Year Award as the Outstanding Baccalaureate College 
Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of 
Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. 
He was one of four, in the entire Nation to be honored for their 
dedication to undergraduate education and teaching and their commitment 
to students.
  It is not often, that one gets recognized for one's life's work. It 
is even less often that the recognition comes when the recipient is 
still at the height of his career. I wish to congratulate Dr. Goodwin 
on behalf of all Arkansans for this wonderful accomplishment. Dr. 
Goodwin has dedicated his entire professional life, over 25 years, to 
the education of young people. During a time when many are concerned 
with publishing, research, and the advancement of their own careers, 
Dr. Goodwin has remained focused on the reasons he entered academia--
the fostering and development of the leaders and great thinkers of the 
next generation. And I, for one, agree with him. He has done what so 
many teachers try to do. Some are more successful than others. Some are 
outstanding researchers who make wonderful discoveries that further the 
scientific knowledge of mankind. Some are great administrators who 
manage the machinery from which these great discoveries are churned. 
Still, Dr. Goodwin has made the greatest discovery of all. He has 
discovered that all of the advancements of the human race, all of the 
great mechanizations from which these advancements come mean nothing 
without the continuity of people teaching other people. Knowledge in a 
vacuum, doesn't further the human condition. For the human condition to 
move forward, to change for the betterment of all, we must learn. We 
must teach. ``For the end of man is to know.'' That's one of my 
favorite literary quotes, from Robert Penn Warren's All The King's Men. 
The end of man keeps moving farther, just beyond the outstretched reach 
of our hands. To reach the ends, man must continue to know. Dr. Goodwin 
has found the best way to accomplish this; the best way to achieve the 
end is through a partnership between teacher and student. The 
disbursement of knowledge; what it is, how to get it, where to find it, 
becomes the primary objective for a multigenerational team working 
together. Dr. Goodwin has achieved this elusive goal. A seamless 
partnership between professor and student, with both benefiting from 
the contributions of the other, both contributing toward the end of 
man.
  But don't take it from me. His colleagues and his students realize 
the impact Dr. Goodwin has had on the minds and motivations of young 
people. They refer to him not only as teacher and scholar, but also as 
mentor and friend. Dr. John Churchill, secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa 
Society and former Dean of Hendrix College notes, ``To see Tom Goodwin 
with students is to feel the power of his expectations. It is also

[[Page S15811]]

to feel the warm, personal support, extended toward their efforts. He 
epitomizes the tension of the best undergraduate liberal arts 
professors: demanding rigor and providing support. He takes a wide-
ranging interest in his students' education. He helps them grow into 
well-rounded intellects.'' His colleagues in the Chemistry Department 
at Hendrix College, Dr. Liz Gron, testifies to the amount of time and 
attention Dr. Goodwin gives his work. ``He wants every student to 
succeed and he provides a number of different venues in order to 
support different learning styles. Tom schedules four help sessions a 
week, as well as time-independent exams to accommodate students that 
synthesize concepts more slowly.'' His students agree. ``Dr. Goodwin 
offered many, many hours of his personal time, both in the laboratory 
and the classroom, to help me conquer the very difficult subjects I was 
studying,'' says Daniel Mwanza, a former student at Hendrix. Many other 
former students agreed and wrote statements similar to Mr. Mwanza's in 
support of his nomination for this award. So you see, this man is 
important to his students, important to his colleagues and institution, 
and important to education across this country. I am proud to serve him 
and I am proud he is my constituent. Dr. Goodwin represents the highest 
tradition of education in this country. He inspires his students to 
achieve more than they would alone. He is deeply deserving of this 
award, and I wish to congratulate him for this monumental 
achievement.

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