[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 108 (Monday, September 13, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1599-E1600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CENTENARY OF ST. MICHAEL'S COLLEGE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 13, 2004

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, this is a time for celebration of higher 
education in the Green Mountain State: One hundred years ago Saint 
Michael's College was founded in Winooski, Vermont.
  In the past century the college has seen its enrollment burgeon from 
34 students to 1,900 students. It has grown from very modest beginnings 
into a major institution of higher education, widely known as one of 
the finest liberal arts colleges in the Northeast, and one of the 
premier Catholic colleges in America. With the diversity of its student 
body, and its long history as one of the first schools to offer 
education in teaching English as a second language, its reputation for 
academic excellence is not just national but international.
  Priests of the Society of St. Edmund emigrated to North America, 
fleeing religious persecution in France in the late nineteenth century. 
They settled in Vermont, and changed forever the shape of education in 
their adopted state.
  As an order dedicated to education, the Edmundites founded Saint 
Michael's College in 1904. With an initial investment of $5,000 they 
began the college on the Kelly Farm in Winooski Park. Their initial 
effort was modest, just under three dozen students ranging in age from 
10 to 22. Few, except the visionary

[[Page E1600]]

founders, would have believed that from such small beginnings would 
emerge the thriving institution which, a century later, is widely known 
for both its rigorous academic program and its deep commitment to 
service.
  The founders themselves probably did not foresee that the college, 
originally open only to men, would go co-educational in 1970, or that 
its commitment to excellence in every pursuit--in developing the 
ethical as well as the intellectual and spiritual side of human 
existence, in improving the body as well as the mind--would lead to the 
Ice Knights winning the NCAA Division II hockey championship. (Nor have 
the women far behind: in 2000 the St. Michael's field hockey team 
advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four.) The founders knew they 
were sowing the seeds for building character and giving a base for 
achievement in the secular world, but even they could not have foreseen 
that graduates of St. Michael's would serve in the United States 
Senate, and head some of America's largest and most important 
corporations, or win the Pulitzer Prize. Many graduates serve their 
fellow men and women, here and abroad, with great dedication, though 
that they could have foreseen, for commitment to the welfare of the 
underprivileged and dispossessed has always been central to the 
Edmundite mission.
  Today, the 1,900 full-time undergraduate students at St. Michael's 
reside in an environment in which learning takes place both in and out 
of the classroom. In addition to its undergraduates, a multitude of 
graduate and international students experience its commitment to moral 
and ethical development, a commitment inspired by the strong Edmundite 
tradition of service. Although it is now run by a secular Board of 
Trustees, and no longer are the majority of its teachers Edmundite 
priests, St. Michael's still is guided by the spirit of its founding 
order, the recognition that service and education are inextricably 
linked, and intellectual growth must proceed in concert with spiritual 
and ethical deepening.
  St. Michael's was one of the first colleges to institute an 
Alternative Spring Break, enabling students to work in inner cities and 
rural areas to rebuild communities and provide needed services. Today, 
the college lives out its commitment to service in many ways at home 
and abroad. In the past few years, student programs have gone to 
Calcutta, Tanzania, Haiti and elsewhere to learn and do good work. St. 
Michael's remains dedicated to teaching biology and literature, history 
and philosophy--but is also enduringly dedicated to working with the 
impoverished, the homeless, and the victims of AIDS.
  It is a particular mark of St. Michael's excellence that it was 
recently invited to join the elite ranks of colleges and universities 
hosting Phi Beta Kappa chapters on campus.
  And Saint Michael's continues to grow ever stronger academically. For 
fourteen consecutive years it has been highly rated in rankings of 
colleges by US News and World Report, and in 2003 it was identified by 
Newsweek magazine as one of thirty ``hidden treasure'' colleges that 
deserve wider national recognition.
  Under the able leadership of President Marc vanderHeyden, a dedicated 
and excellent faculty teaches courses which are at the cutting edge of 
knowledge, while still rooted in the great traditions of learning. The 
staff at the college are as committed to excellence and the growth of 
students as are the faculty. The alumni, those prior generations of St. 
Michael's students, have gone on to do significant work in the world, 
serving as models for the engaged students of today, and contribute as 
generous benefactors to the fiscal well-being of the college.
  I have spoken at St. Michael's, met with classes there, and had its 
students serve as interns in my office. So I say with confidence that 
its students are remarkable young people, for they embody that 
dedication to conjoining learning with service which is the hallmark of 
the college.
  As St. Michael's College moves into its second century, the people of 
Vermont salute its past achievement and its present accomplishment. 
Situated above the Winooski River, overlooking the splendors of Mount 
Mansfield, it is my firm expectation that St. Michael's College and its 
campus community will continue to sparkle, a bright jewel in the Green 
Mountain State.

                          ____________________