[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 13, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO DR. SHIRLEY JACKSON, PRESIDENT OF RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC 
                               INSTITUTE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN W. OLVER

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 2005

  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the educational 
leadership of Dr. Shirley Jackson. As university president, Dr. Jackson 
has helped shape Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, RPI, into one of the 
premier technological universities in the world.
  A key aspect of Dr. Jackson's effort was the establishment of the 
``Rensselaer Plan,'' a collaborative roadmap joining together faculty, 
staff, students and alumni in an effort to make RPI an academic mecca 
within the Northeast region. During her tenure, she has increased the 
level of educational services the university can provide students in 
part by securing a $360 million unrestricted gift to RPI, one of the 
largest single gifts ever given to an American university, and by 
doubling annual fundraising in the last 3 years.
  The influx of new financial resources during Dr. Jackson's tenure has 
spurred the new construction of state-of-the-art research facilities, 
including the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies 
and the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center. These 
construction projects have corresponded with increases in National 
Institute of Health, NIH, research funding from $400,000 in 1999 to $30 
million in 2004. These increases have allowed the university to hire 
over 100 new faculty members and expand research activities. Students 
benefit from these first class facilities and improved student-to-
faculty ratio while having the opportunity to be involved in cutting 
edge research.
  Again, I commend Dr. Shirley Jackson for her remarkable 
accomplishments in keeping RPI, my alma mater, a top-tier technological 
university.

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