[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 48 (Thursday, April 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E630-E631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN TRIBUTE TO KIRBY GODSEY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM MARSHALL

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 26, 2006

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Dr. R. Kirby 
Godsey, of Macon, Georgia, who is retiring after a long, successful 
tenure as President of Mercer University. I rise to thank Dr. Godsey 
for his extraordinary wisdom, leadership and grace that blessed not 
only Mercer University and Middle Georgia, but me as well.
  Mr. Speaker, on July 1, 1979, Kirby Godsey became the 17th president 
of Mercer University. For almost 27 years, Kirby guided Mercer

[[Page E631]]

as it grew in prestige and national recognition. U.S. News & World 
Report has ranked Mercer as one of the leading institutions in the 
South for 14 consecutive years. The Princeton Review named Mercer among 
``The Best in North America,'' and USA Today ranked Mercer among the 
Top 10 in three categories for its National Academic Achievement Awards 
for student-athletes.
  Mr. Speaker, Kirby Godsey's strong, perceptive, caring, steady and 
engaging leadership has been critical to Mercer's success. Without him 
and his commitment to Mercer, I believe Mercer would not be the 
University it is today. But Mr. Speaker, Kirby Godsey's beneficial 
influence did not end at Mercer's borders. He has been a remarkable 
force for progress in Macon and Middle Georgia. The lives and projects 
he touched for the better would be too numerous to mention even if I 
were capable of cataloging them all. Let just a few examples suffice. 
Under Kirby's leadership, Mercer partnered with the City of Macon and 
others to successfully revitalize and transform the neighborhoods 
surrounding Mercer's campus. Indeed, Kirby Godsey's Mercer became a 
major force for rejuvenating Macon's central business district. And 
Mercer's School of Medicine and its School of Engineering were no more 
than dreams before Kirby Godsey's tenure. Now Mercer-trained physicians 
provide care in underserved rural areas while Mercer engineers serve 
our nation at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center.
  Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that the Congressional Record forever 
include this brief acknowledgement of the accomplishments of Kirby 
Godsey as President of Mercer University. He will continue to bless 
those around him with his uncanny wisdom and grace. Few leave such 
enduringly positive legacies.

                          ____________________