[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 31 (Tuesday, March 15, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2745-S2746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COCHRAN (for himself, Mr. Frist, and Mr. Leahy):
  S.J. Res. 9. A joint resolution providing for the appointment of 
Robert P. Kogod as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing two Senate Joint 
Resolutions appointing citizen regents to the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution. I am pleased that my fellow Smithsonian 
Institution Regent, Senators Frist and Leahy, are cosponsors.
  The Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents recently recommended the 
following distinguished individuals for appointment to six year terms 
on the Board; Robert P. Kogod of Washington, D.C., and Shirley Ann 
Jackson of New York.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of their biographies and the text 
of the joint resolutions by printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Shirley Ann Jackson, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, 
                                New York

       Shirley Ann Jackson is the 18th president of Rensselaer 
     Polytechnic Institute and the first African American woman to 
     lead a national research university. She is widely recognized 
     for her intelligent, compassionate problem-solving abilities 
     and her promotion of women and minorities in the sciences.
       The words ``first African American woman'' describe much of 
     Dr. Jackson's career: a theoretical physicist, she is the 
     first African American woman to receive a doctorate from 
     M.I.T., the first African American to become a Commissioner 
     of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the first woman 
     and the first African American to serve as the Chairman of 
     the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the first African 
     American woman elected to the National Academy of 
     Engineering.
       Since coming to Rensselaer, Dr. Jackson has led the 
     development and initial implementation of the Rensselaer Plan 
     (the Institute's strategic blueprint), restructured processes 
     and procedures, and secured a $360 million unrestricted gift 
     commitment to the University. Prior to becoming Rensselaer's 
     president, Dr. Jackson's career encompassed senior positions 
     in government, industry, research, and academe.
       Dr. Jackson is currently president of the American 
     Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); director 
     of a number of major corporations, including FedEx 
     Corporation, AT&T Corporation, Marathon Oil Corporation, and 
     Medtronic, Inc.; member of the New York Stock Exchange's 
     board of directors, the Council on Foreign Relations, the 
     National Academy of Engineering, the National Advisory 
     Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the 
     National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Comptroller-
     General's Advisory Committee for the Government Accounting 
     Office (GAO), the Executive Committee of the Council on 
     Competitiveness, and the Council of the Government-
     University-Industry Research Roundtable; fellow of the 
     American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American 
     Physical Society; Life Member of the M.I.T. Corporation (the 
     M.I.T. Board of Trustees); and trustee of Georgetown 
     University, Rockefeller University, Emma Willard School, and 
     the Brookings Institution. Dr. Jackson was recently named one 
     of seven 2004 Fellows of the Association for Women in Science 
     (AWlS). She has received numerous other honors, such as the 
     Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Academia from 
     the National Society of Black Engineers, US Black Engineer & 
     Information Technology magazine's ``Black Engineer of the 
     Year Award'' (first female recipient), and the Associated 
     Black Charities' ``Immortal Award''; been inducted into the 
     Women in Technology International Foundation Hall of Fame 
     (WITI) and the National Women's Hall of Fame; and been 
     recognized in such publications as Discover magazine (``Top 
     50 Women in Science''), the ESSENCE book 50 of The Most 
     Inspiring African Americans, and Industry Week magazine (``50 
     R&D Stars to Watch'').
       A native of Washington, D.C., Dr. Jackson received both her 
     S.B. in Physics (1968) and her Ph.D. in Theoretical 
     Elementary Particle Physics (1973) from M.I.T. Dr. Jackson 
     also holds 32 honorary doctoral degrees.

  Robert P. Kogod, Donor and President, Robert P. and Arlene R. Kogod 
 Family Foundation; Donor and Vice President, Charles E. Smith Family 
                      Foundation Washington, D.C.

       Robert P. Kogod is the former co-chairman and co-chief 
     executive officer of Charles E. Smith Realty Companies. He 
     joined the Smith Companies, founded by Charles E. Smith 
     (father of Mr. Kogod's wife, Arlene), in 1959. From 1964 to 
     2001, Mr. Kogod served as president, chief executive officer, 
     and a director of Charles E. Smith Management, Inc., where he 
     oversaw and directed all phases of the leasing and management 
     of the Smith Companies' commercial real estate portfolio. The 
     Smith Companies pioneered mixed-use development in the 
     Washington, D.C., area, including residential, office, and 
     retail buildings in Crystal City, Virginia, that became one 
     of the largest mixed-use developments in the United States.
       Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty, Inc., formerly the 
     commercial portfolio of Charles E. Smith Management Inc., is 
     the largest owner and operator of commercial property in the 
     Washington, D.C., metropolitan market. It was acquired by 
     Vornado Realty Trust in 2001 and now operates as a division 
     of Vornado. Charles E. Smith Residential Realty is a publicly 
     traded real estate investment trust that merged with 
     Archstone Communities to become Archstone-Smith Trust in 
     2001. Its core business is developing, acquiring, owning, and 
     managing upscale urban residential rental properties. Mr. 
     Kogod is a member of the boards of directors of Vornado 
     Realty Trust and Archstone-Smith Trust. He is also a member 
     of the Economic Club of Washington.
       The Kogods are renowned philanthropists. In 1979, the 
     Robert P. and Arlene R. Kogod School of Business at American 
     University (where Mr. Kogod received his B.S. in 1962) was 
     named in honor of a major gift from the Kogods. Founded in 
     1976, the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, a leading 
     innovator in the field of pluralistic Jewish thought and 
     education, is home to the Robert P. and Arlene R. Kogod 
     Institute for Advanced Jewish Research.
       The Kogods are also world-recognized collectors of American 
     crafts, Art Deco, and American art, as evidenced in the 2004 
     catalogue 2929: The Kogod Collection. Mr. and Mrs. Kogod are 
     longstanding members of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's 
     American Art Forum and the Archives for American Art. Mr. 
     Kogod has also served as a member of the Smithsonian 
     Washington Council and is currently serving as special 
     advisor to Secretary Small on the Patent Office Building 
     renovation project.
       Other beneficiaries of the Kogods and/or the Kogod-Smith 
     families and foundations have included the Jewish Community 
     Center of Greater Washington; the University of Pennsylvania; 
     the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School; the Hebrew Home of 
     Greater Washington; the Jewish Community Center of Greater 
     Washington; the Latin American Youth Center; the Corcoran 
     Gallery of Art; and George Washington University. Mr. Kogod 
     also serves as a trustee and advisor to the president of 
     American University, a board member of the Charles E. Smith 
     Jewish Day School, and a trustee of The Island Foundation and 
     Federal City Council.

                              S.J. Res. 8

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in 
     accordance with section 5581 of the Revised Statutes (20 
     U.S.C. 43), the vacancy on the Board of Regents of the 
     Smithsonian Institution (in the class other than Members of 
     Congress) occurring because of the expiration of the term of 
     Hanna H. Gray of Illinois on April 13, 2005, is filled by the 
     appointment of Shirley Ann Jackson of New York, for a term of 
     6 years, beginning on the later of April 13, 2005, or the 
     date on which this resolution becomes law.

                              S.J. Res. 9

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in 
     accordance with section 5581 of the Revised Statutes (20 
     U.S.C. 43), the vacancy on the Board of Regents of the 
     Smithsonian Institution (in the class other than Members of 
     Congress) occurring because of the expiration of the term of

[[Page S2746]]

     Wesley S. Williams, Jr., of Washington, D.C., on April 13, 
     2005, is filled by the appointment of Robert P. Kogod of 
     Washington, D.C., for a term of 6 years, beginning on the 
     later of April 13, 2005, or the date on which this resolution 
     becomes law.

                          ____________________