[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 72 (Thursday, May 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6005-S6006]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRATULATIONS TO BETTY SIEGEL

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I rise to memorialize in the Record of 
the Senate the name of a great educator in the State of Georgia. Two 
weeks ago at the commencement exercises of Kennesaw State University in 
Kennesaw,

[[Page S6006]]

GA, a lady by the name of Dr. Betty Siegel announced at the end of that 
commencement her retirement as president of Kennesaw State University 
after 25 years of service.
  One might think in listening to that, well, that is a nice 
accomplishment, but is that so significant? I will talk for a minute 
about how significant this woman's life and her contributions have 
been.
  Twenty-five years ago there were not many women presidents of any 
colleges or universities in the United States of America. In fact, 
Betty Siegel became the first president of a public university in the 
history of the university system of Georgia. She took the leadership of 
a small, urban campus, nonresidential, known as Kennesaw State College, 
with students numbering 4,000, handing out a handful of degrees, most 
all to computer learners.
  As Dr. Siegel announced her retirement 2 weeks ago, she leaves a 
university with 18,000 students, third only to the University of 
Georgia and Georgia State University in population in our State, 
granting multiple degrees and a forerunner in our State in nursing, in 
education, in family business, in leadership, and in ethics.
  Betty Siegel graduated from Wake Forest with an undergraduate degree 
and went to the University of North Carolina for her master's and 
doctorate from Florida State. She taught, she became a dean, throughout 
the southeastern United States. But when she was tapped, it was not 
only the right person for the time, it was the best decision possible. 
She broke the glass ceiling for women presidents at universities and 
colleges in Georgia because now we have many. She was the forerunner.
  She built an urban university that was nonresidential and commuter 
into a combination commuter and residential university of renown and 
respect all over the United States.
  While she did it, she did just a few other things. She got appointed 
to five corporate boards because of her contribution, her intellect, 
her knowledge, and her breadth and depth. She became president of a 
Chamber of Commerce. How many times have you heard of a college 
president or university president going on to be the president of a 
local community Chamber of Commerce? This happens to be the second 
largest Chamber of Commerce in the State of Georgia. But that is how 
remarkable Betty Siegel is.
  I also mentioned in my remarks earlier that Kennesaw was the leader 
in leadership and ethics. They are because Betty Siegel found a way, 
through corporate and private donations, to endow a chair and build a 
school committed to leadership in ethics, in business, and in public 
life.
  Through her commitment to understand the strength of small business 
and the fact that it is the heart of American employment, she founded, 
in our State, at her university, a division of family business, second 
to none, that today is the resource for families who try to make those 
transitions from one generation to the next, to make the transition 
from small business to medium-sized business to large business, or to 
seek the guidance that is so unique for small family businesses. And 
Kennesaw State University is that institution.
  But I want to tell you something about Dr. Betty Siegel.
  Retirement is not quite the appropriate announcement because she has 
never retired from her commitment in her life to young people and to 
their education, and she will not now. Because when asked, after her 
announcement--within minutes--well, what are you going to do? She said: 
I am going to teach. I am going to work with young people. I am going 
to try to make their lives better.
  After making that announcement, she spent the next week overnight in 
a dorm with students, asking how she could advise the next president to 
make the services of Kennesaw State University even better for the 
students who will enter in the fall of 2005 and go on to 2006.
  It gives me a great deal of pleasure and it is a privilege to 
recognize on the Senate floor the contributions of Dr. Betty Siegel to 
the children of Georgia, her contributions to higher education, the 
ceiling she broke for women in academics in our State, and, most 
importantly, all of her continuing capacity to helping and teaching our 
young people.

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