[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 11, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      A TRIBUTE TO UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS PRESIDENT, JIM APPLETON

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                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 11, 2005

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
a true leader for quality higher education in California, University of 
Redlands President, Jim Appleton. Over the past 18 years, Jim Appleton 
has helped a small liberal arts college gain a national reputation for 
excellence and progressive thinking.
  The University of Redlands was established by the American Baptist 
Church nearly 100 years ago in what was then a small farming community 
east of the growing Los Angeles urban area. In the intervening century, 
both the city of Redlands and the University have grown in population 
and sophistication. The university is now an independent liberal-arts 
school, and the community is known throughout Southern California for 
its historical housing districts and support for the arts.
  The University of Redlands was already becoming a modern institution 
when Jim Appleton was named president in 1987. Its student body had 
grown to 1,280, and its endowment was a respectable $24 million. It had 
been rated highly in the widely-read survey of colleges by the U.S. 
News and World Report magazine.
  Jim Appleton came to the University of Redlands from the University 
of Southern California, where he had been a faculty member, vice 
president for student affairs and vice president of development. He 
brought a can-do spirit from that national powerhouse institution.
  Appleton balanced the university's books in 1989 for the first time 
in years. A new ball field was added in 1994, and a new NCAA-quality 
aquatics center opened in 1996. Overall, the college has invested $140 
million in new facilities in the past 18 years--compared to $21 million 
in the previous 20 years. The building program is continuing with a new 
science center, new environmental studies center and new mathematics 
facility. Along the way, many of the college's historic structures have 
been renovated and modernized, as well.
  New academic programs include Environmental Studies, Race and Ethnic 
Studies, and Theater. The college has increased its full-time faculty 
by 40 percent, and has added professional schools in business and 
education. Three graduate degree programs are now offered--in music, 
communicative disorders and in geographic information systems--the 
latter a collaboration with the internationally known GIS company ESRI, 
which is also headquartered in Redlands.
  The success of the university is easily measured: The student body 
today is 2,450 in the undergraduate schools, and an additional 1,965 in 
the graduate programs. The endowment is now in excess of $107 million, 
and the university has raised $70 million of a $100 million Centennial 
Campaign begun in 2004.
  As a member of Congress representing Redlands, I have been pleased 
that my colleagues have seen fit over the years to provide federal 
funds to further innovative programs at the university. The returns on 
the investment have ranged from informative studies on desert 
environment systems to new methods for teaching technology to classroom 
teachers. I have found it especially rewarding to work with my friend 
Jim Appleton, who has shown such dedication to his university and to 
the city we both call home.
  Mr. Speaker, after 18 years as president, Jim Appleton has decided to 
``retire'' and become university chancellor. I ask my colleagues to 
join me in thanking him for his years of service to the education of 
our young people, and wish him and his wonderful wife Carol the utmost 
success in their future endeavors.

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