[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 2 (Thursday, January 6, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E40-E41]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF RODNEY GILSEN KENNEDY-MINOTT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 6, 2005

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Rodney Gilsen Kennedy-
Minott, who passed away December 15th at the age of 76. Rodney's 
lifelong dedication to academia, activism and public service will 
forever remind us of the importance of courage and dedication, even in 
trying times.
  Born in Portland, Oregon, Rodney moved to Massachusetts in his 
teenage years. Though college bound, the lure of military service led 
him to enlist after high school, serving in the US Army occupation 
force in Japan. After his time in the service, he set out to finish his 
education at Stanford University, eventually earning his B.A., M.A. and 
Ph.D. In 1965, he moved back to his native Portland, where he taught as 
an Associate Professor and worked as a staffer for former Congresswoman 
Edith Green. Two years later, he moved to California State University 
at Hayward where he became the Associate Dean of Instruction, a 
Professor of History and Head of the Humanities Department.
  Rodney's keen interest in politics led him to early support for 
President Jimmy Carter's campaign in 1974. He was later lauded as an 
impressive character for standing up to the Army Corps of Engineers and 
Federal bureaucracy on behalf of the campaign and became quite close to 
the President.
  Rodney went on to serve as the Ambassador to Sweden from 1977 to 
1980, judged ``the most effective and successful US Ambassador to 
Sweden in more than twenty years'' by Nobel Prize winners Gunnar and 
Alva Myrdal. In 1993, he was selected by the US Navy to implement an 
interdisciplinary curriculum to educate naval officers at the Naval 
Postgraduate School about environmental issues. Rodney also developed a 
program to train naval officers to be diplomatic staff at US embassies.
  Throughout his life, Rodney remained an active member of the 
community. He was a past board member of the West Coast Region of the 
Institute of International Education and the University of San 
Francisco's Pacific Basin Studies Program, an Associate Fellow of the

[[Page E41]]

Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, a member 
of the World Affairs Council Monterey, the Monterey Bay Chapter of the 
Organization of American Historians, the International Institute of 
Strategic Studies, and the American Foreign Service Association.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to remember Rodney for his honorable career and 
his contribution to our society. Rodney consistently went above and 
beyond the roles bestowed upon him, and has left a legacy of leadership 
and activism. Our thoughts go out to his three children, Katharine, 
Rodney Jr., and Polly. While he will be sorely missed, his life will 
continue to inspire those he touched.

                          ____________________