[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 62 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S5068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH P. FITZGERALD

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I salute Joseph P. Fitzgerald, who 
is retiring after 33 years of dedicated service to the Government and 
people of the United States of America.
  For the past quarter century, Mr. Fitzgerald has worked in the 
Audiovisual Program Development Branch at the Lister Hill National 
Center for Biocommunications, which is part of the National Library of 
Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. Mr. 
Fitzgerald, who is a renaissance man of creative vision and artistic 
talent, has made exceptional contributions to the outreach and 
communications mission of the largest biomedical library in the world. 
As technological advances in the dissemination of both visual and text-
based information have evolved over the past 25 years, Mr. Fitzgerald 
has led the way in adopting computer-based graphics systems. And he has 
helped the National Library of Medicine to communicate the most current 
and reliable medical and consumer health information to medical 
professionals, researchers, patients, families and the public.
  The number 25 figures prominently in the life story of Joe Fitzgerald 
for another reason, too. He recently became the 25th person in the 
history of the Republic to execute a design for the front of a 
circulating coin. His groundbreaking portrait of Thomas Jefferson 
graces the new U.S. five-cent coin, as will his obverse design of the 
Lewis and Clark expedition, which will be released in August. Both 
commissions were awarded as part of the United States Mint at the 
Treasury Department's Artistic Infusion Program. Mr. Fitzgerald's 
portrait of Thomas Jefferson marks the first redesign of the front of 
the nickel in 67 years. His nickel designs have been acclaimed 
throughout the coin collecting community, and Mr. Fitzgerald has 
received significant national press attention.

  Joe Fitzgerald earned a B.A. in fine arts from the University of 
Maryland, College Park and pursued graduate studies in printmaking at 
the State University of New York at Oswego. He has served several 
Federal agencies: the United States Postal Service, summers, 168-1972; 
the Food & Drug Administration, 1972-1973; the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, 1973-1980; and the National Library of Medicine, 1980-2005. 
Mr. Fitzgerald has earned numerous awards for outstanding contributions 
and service to the National Library of Medicine, including the 1996 NLM 
Director's Honor Award for exceptional contributions to the mission of 
the library through the creative application of his artistic talent, 
and the 2003 National Institutes of Health Award for Merit for his 
organization, coordination and congenial leadership in effectively 
orchestrating the ``Turning the Pages'' historical medical books 
program.
  In addition, Mr. Fitzgerald is a gifted fine artist. Nationally 
recognized for his work in paint, pastel and digital media, his 
creations have been sent around the world through the Embassy Art 
program, and are held in many private collections. He is currently 
represented by the Foxhall Gallery in Washington, DC.
  Joe Fitzgerald is one of the most beloved individuals ever to tread 
the NIH campus, and I wish him well in his retirement. He is married to 
Jean Hill Fitzgerald, another career civil servant who currently works 
at the National Archives. I thank Joe for distinguished career in 
public service, and I wish him many years of happiness in 
retirement.

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