[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 44 (Friday, April 7, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING SISTER CATHERINE DUNN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM NUSSLE

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 6, 2006

  Mr. NUSSLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Sister Catherine 
Dunn, President of Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa who will retire on 
June 30th 2006, after serving in this position for 22 years.
  Sister Catherine came to Clarke in 1973 and started her service to 
Clarke and the Dubuque Community as a member of the education 
department faculty. In 1979 she became vice president of institutional 
advancement. On January 27th, 1984, she became Clarke's 14th president.
  The first few months for the leader of any organization can be 
challenging, hectic, and perhaps chaotic at times. Sr. Catherine would 
face all of that and more, as her strength and fortitude were tested 
111 days later, when on May 17th, 1984, fire destroyed one-third of the 
historic buildings on campus. In the spirit of Sister Mary Frances 
Clarke who founded the school in 1843, and propelled by students who 
hung banners proclaiming `Clarke Lives,' Sr. Catherine oversaw an 
aggressive rebuilding project. Rising from the ashes were a new 
library, a chapel, music performance hall, administrative offices and a 
glassed atrium, which were dedicated in October of 1986. Most 
importantly, it showed the resilience of a woman who would not let 
devastation chart a negative destiny for the school or her presidency. 
Since then the school has had several other additions and expansions 
including a new sports and recreation complex, an activity center and 
increased student housing.
  For most new presidents that would have been challenge enough, but 
Sr. Catherine's spirit reached far beyond 1550 Clarke Drive. She has 
served on the boards of numerous local, regional, and national 
education and civic organizations. She has served on the executive 
committee of the National Association of Independent Colleges and 
Universities (NAICU) and chaired the organization's tax policy 
committee. In 1989, she was appointed to the Iowa Transportation 
Commission, making history in 1994 when she was named chair of the 
commission. She was the first woman to hold the position in the 81-year 
history of the commission.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to pay tribute to Clarke College President 
Sr. Catherine Dunn. The many lives she has touched will never be known, 
but that work, through others, will live on. We celebrate, we honor and 
we will remember Clarke College's 14th president.

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