[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 153 (Thursday, November 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13157-S13158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SESQUICENTENNIAL

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to Michigan 
State University as they continue their 150th anniversary celebration. 
Throughout its history, Michigan State has made a tremendous 
contribution to the State of Michigan and to our Nation as a whole.
  Michigan State University, or the Agricultural College of the State 
of Michigan as it was originally known, was created in 1855 by an act 
of the Michigan Legislature authorizing the creation of a school of 
higher education for agriculture. Two years later, Michigan State 
welcomed its first class of 63 students.
  Nearly 100 years ago, President Teddy Roosevelt visited Michigan 
State and delivered a commencement speech to more than 20,000 students, 
faculty, and family of the graduates. In his speech, he stated ``The 
fiftieth anniversary of the founding of this college is an event of 
national significance, for Michigan was the first State in the Union to 
found this, the first agricultural college in America.''
  While Michigan State was the first agricultural college in the United 
States, the curriculum studied by its students went far beyond 
agriculture and included classes in English, philosophy, and economics. 
This multifaceted approach to higher education produced well-rounded 
graduates and became the foundation of the educational philosophy later 
employed by the land grant colleges created by Congress in 1862. In 
addition, this philosophy marked an important change in the way higher 
education was perceived around the country. No longer was a college 
degree available only to society's elite, but also to the less 
privileged who made use of the practical education they received to 
improve their own standard of living as well as that of their family, 
community, and our Nation as a whole. The significance of this shift in 
thinking cannot be overstated and remains as important today as it was 
in the mid-1800s.
  Of course, President Roosevelt's commencement address was only one of 
many significant events in the history of Michigan State University. 
The University welcomed its first female students in 1870 and presented 
22 degrees to women by 1895. Michigan State's color barrier was broken 
in the early 1900s when it awarded its first degrees to an African-
American man, William Thompson, in 1904 and an African-American woman, 
Myrtle Craig, in 1907.
  Among the nearly 400,000 Michigan State Alumni worldwide are 16 
Rhodes Scholars, a Pulitzer Prize winner, a Grammy award winner, two 
former Michigan Governors, a former U.S. Senator and Secretary of 
Energy, and the first women to represent the State of Michigan in the 
U.S. Senate, my colleague and friend, Debbie Stabenow. Michigan State 
now offers more than 200 programs of study and serves almost 45,000 
current students from all 50 States and more than 120 foreign 
countries.
  Among many other things, researchers at Michigan State University are 
credited with the development of leading cancer fighting drugs and the 
process of milk homogenization. Michigan State is currently home to the 
National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, the leading rare isotope 
research facility in the country. The nuclear science research taking 
place at this facility is improving our knowledge of the elements that 
make up the world around us and could provide new medical 
breakthroughs, including new tools for the treatment of cancer. This 
research, primarily funded by the National Science Foundation and the 
university, has made Michigan State's nuclear physics doctoral program 
one of the most prestigious in the Nation.
  I know my colleagues will join me in congratulating Michigan State 
University on 150 years of contributions to Michigan and the Nation as 
a whole. I would also like to wish Michigan State University, its 
students, faculty, alumni, and supporters good luck and continued 
success as they work to make the next 150 years as productive and full 
of accomplishment as previous 150 have been.
 Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the 
sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary, of my alma mater, Michigan 
State University, MSU.
  Located on the banks of the Red Cedar River, Michigan State 
University was the first agricultural college in the Nation and the 
prototype for land-grant institutions later established under the 
Morrill Act of 1862. In fact, in the mid 1950s, the U.S. Postal Service 
honored Michigan State University with a postage stamp commemorating it 
as the original land-grant university.
  The land-grant philosophy is rooted in the principle to extend the 
values of education to all who seek it, and the Morrill Act grew out of 
a movement to bring benefits of education to rural areas. The original 
tract of land in 1855 for my nascent college, then known as the 
Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, consisted of 677 acres. 
Additional lands were purchased, and presently, the combined size of 
Michigan State lands--from its central campus to its research stations 
around the state--totals close to 20,000 acres across Michigan. As the 
campus has grown, so has Michigan State's imprint on the world through 
its commitment to its students and its offering of a quality, public 
higher education to all.
  Academically, MSU students and colleges are highly regarded. The 
university has had more Rhodes Scholars than any other Big Ten 
Conference university in the past generation. U.S. News & World Report 
ranks 10 of MSU's graduate departments in the Top 10 in their field 
nationally. On an international note, the University's Study Abroad 
program is the largest of any public university in the Nation, offering 
more than 190 programs in more than 60 countries on all continents, 
including Antarctica. Furthermore, MSU is proud to have the highest 
percentage of in-state students among Michigan universities, with many 
of those who receive a bachelor's degree from MSU staying and working 
in the state.
  The University has a notable and strong athletic history. In its 108-
year football history, Michigan State has won six NCAA national 
football championships, while last year, both its men's and women's 
basketball teams made it to their respective and coveted Final Four 
tournaments. Sparty the Spartan is Michigan State University's fearless 
and loveable mascot, a figure known throughout the State of Michigan 
and recognized across the Nation as well. Sparty is the heart of 
Michigan State, forever supporting its teams, bringing smiles to young 
and old and continually uplifting all who meet him.
  The State of Michigan has always been the ``first beneficiary'' of 
MSU's

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high-quality academic programs and its global networks. But it is 
through those networks that MSU also is engaged with the world beyond 
the boundaries of its campus. Michigan State has built partnerships 
across the Nation and around the globe that fulfill its land-grant 
responsibilities to an international society and at the same time 
rebound benefits to Michigan, working in ways that will bring my 
constituents the greatest value and return, ways that will strengthen 
our communities, fuel our economy and provide all of our citizens with 
a better quality of life.
  As I applaud today the deep history and strength of Michigan State 
University, I know its best days are still before it. From this 
Spartan, I wish Michigan State University a most wonderful 
sesquicentennial.

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