[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 64 (Monday, May 10, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E799]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN HONOR OF SISTER JEANNE O'LAUGHLIN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 10, 2004

  Mr. MEEK. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor and recognize the achievements 
of a truly great and gifted leader in our community. On June 20, 2004, 
Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin will step down as president of Barry 
University. To the people in South Florida, that is almost like saying 
that the sun will rise from now on in the North, it is that big a 
change, because Sister Jeanne, as she is affectionately known to 
virtually everyone, has contributed so much to the best of who we are, 
and what we would like to become. I am proud to be a member of the 
board of directors of Barry University, so I have worked with Sister 
Jeanne and seen her work first-hand.
  Sister Jeanne has served as Barry University's fifth president for 
the past 23 years. In 1981, she took over the helm of what was then 
Barry College, a small Catholic institution of higher learning in Miami 
Shores, FL, with 1,750 students. It was not long, however, until she 
brought her considerable power to bear on building up Barry College--
not for the sake of construction, although construct she did. She added 
38 buildings to the institution, doubled the number of academic 
schools, increased the number of students to over 9,000 and turned 
Barry into a full-fledged University--now the fourth largest private 
University in Florida.
  She built up the University in order to meet specific and critical 
needs in our community and in our nation. She saw that there were 
increasing needs for highly trained health professionals; Sister Jeanne 
saw to if that Barry University met that need. She saw that minority 
students had trouble getting into college; she established programs at 
Barry to create new opportunities for them, making Barry one of the 
leading minority-graduating institutions in Florida. She also looked 
outside her campus and saw needs in the surrounding neighborhoods, and 
created curriculums and programs focused on the people living there.
  Sister Jeanne will always be known for her commitment to issues she 
held dear, such as the advancement of women in education and in human 
rights at home and abroad. When three young Chinese women sought 
political asylum in South Florida, it was Sr. O'Laughlin who took up 
their cause and got the Immigration and Naturalization Service to 
withdraw its opposition to political asylum, thereby allowing the three 
young women to stay. And when young Haitian children needed sponsors to 
get out of government detention and into the community, Sister Jeanne 
was there to make that happen.
  Sister Jeanne has chaired many charities and non-profits, and has 
used her fundraising skills to help countless organizations. A measure 
of her influence was her membership in the Non-Group in Miami, which 
was composed of the most important movers and shakers in the community. 
She held her own with the CEOs of billion-dollar corporations, just as 
she did with the parents of children in her neighborhood who needed 
health care but could not pay for it. Her honors and accolades are 
countless, and her accomplishments are extraordinary--mostly because 
she is so good and so great, that it is impossible to tell her no.
  Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin was the engine that powered tremendous 
growth and expanded opportunity at Barry University, and has been a 
symbol of enlightened and integrity. As she now moves into a new period 
of her life, I wish her joy and happiness: I know she will be 
successful. Her involvement and contribution have left an indelible 
mark on Barry University, on all of South Florida, and indeed on 
everyone who ever had the good fortune of crossing her path.

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