[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2172-E2173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING DR. WILLIAM FELICE, FLORIDA PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 2006

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. William F. 
Felice, a professor of Political Science at Eckerd College, who has 
been named the 2006 Florida Professor of the Year by the Carnegie 
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Dr. Felice was honored here 
in Washington on November 16th along with professors of the year from 
43 states,
  It is my privilege to represent Eckerd College, a St. Petersburg, 
Florida college led by its President Donald R. Eastman III, which 
emphasizes quality undergraduate education. Dr. Felice is one of many 
outstanding members of the Eckerd faculty.
  Motivating students in his international relations classes is Dr. 
Felice's principal goal as a professor. He is highly successful as 
since 1995 when he joined the Eckerd faculty, he has been awarded some 
of the college's highest honors by his students and his peers. He 
received the John M. Bevan Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership 
Award in 2005. The students voted him the Professor of the Year in 2003 
and the faculty voted him the Robert A. Staub Distinguished Teacher of 
the Year in 1999.
  This latest honor though is not his first national recognition, as he 
earned the 1999 American Political Science Association (APSA) 
Outstanding Teacher in Political Science Award from APSA and Phi Sigma 
Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society.
  Mr. Speaker, following my remarks I would like to include for the 
benefit of my colleagues a profile of Dr. Felice published by Eckerd 
College. Clearly he has found a way to inspire his students to study 
more about the world around them and I commend him for this great honor 
and for the personal energy and enthusiasm he brings to the classroom.

       ``My primary pedagogical method is to teach international 
     relations in a Socratic style, constantly questioning and 
     interacting with the students in the class. I strive to 
     motivate students to understand the importance of 
     international relations by my example. With conviction and 
     passion, I try to show students how central these issues are, 
     both to my own personal intellectual journey and to world 
     affairs.''--William F. Felice
       William F. Felice, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at 
     Eckerd College, has been named the 2006 Florida Professor of 
     the Year by the prestigious Carnegie Foundation for the 
     Advancement of Teaching. The U.S. Professors of the Year 
     Program, administered by the Council for the Advancement and 
     Support of Education (CASE), is the only national initiative 
     specifically designed to recognize excellence in 
     undergraduate teaching and mentoring.
       Professor Felice was recognized on November 16, 2006 in a 
     Washington, D.C. awards ceremony along with professors from 
     43 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. The following 
     day, also in Washington, Florida Congressman C.W. Bill Young 
     extended personal congratulations to Professor Felice.
       ``It is a fitting tribute to Professor Felice to be 
     recognized as the 2006 Florida Professor of the Year,'' said 
     Eckerd College President Donald R. Eastman III. ``Professor 
     Felice epitomizes what is one of Eckerd College's greatest 
     strengths in the academic program: the mentoring relationship 
     between the professor and student. Professor Felice, who 
     exudes passion in his teaching about human rights and social 
     justice, motivates students to find the courage to address 
     issues of poverty and despair with a sense of hope that their 
     efforts will make a difference in this world.''
       ``Not only has Prof. Felice distinguished himself as a 
     truly outstanding teacher whose impact on students is 
     profound,'' said Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean 
     of Faculty Lloyd W. Chapin, ``he has contributed 
     substantially to building an extraordinary undergraduate 
     International Relation and Global Affair Program that offers 
     students unique opportunities to study both here and abroad. 
     They study at the United Nations in New York City and in 
     Geneva, Switzerland, and complete domestic and international 
     service learning projects. Highly respected also for his 
     curricular leadership, he coordinated our capstone senior 
     course, Quest for Meaning, from 2004-2006 earning rave 
     reviews from the interdisciplinary team of twenty faculty who 
     participate in the course.
       ``Repeatedly, students tell me stories of the 
     transformative effect that Professor Felice has had on their 
     intellectual and ethical lives.''


           how two former students remember professor felice

       Professor Felice's courses have included Ethics and 
     International Relations, Introduction to International 
     Relations, Quest for Meaning, International Political 
     Economy, Geneva and International Cooperation, Human Rights 
     and International Law.
       ``Dr. Felice inspires and motivates his students in many 
     ways, but one of his greatest gifts as a teacher is his 
     ability to teach about empathy toward the poverty-stricken 
     and oppressed in our local community and on a global scale.''
       --Kathleen Deegan, B.A., Eckerd College, 2003
       ``One professor in particular sticks out in my mind as a 
     humble hero whose passion and enthusiasm for life and 
     education infuse his teaching with boundless energy, 
     encourage his colleagues to aspire to higher levels of 
     learning and teaching and inspire his students in ways 
     admired by many and replicated by few. Though I honestly 
     believe that Professor Felice could easily have led a life 
     of fame, world travel and excitement as a politician or an 
     international affairs consultant, I am selfishly grateful 
     that he chose to dedicate so much of his time to teaching 
     and I hope that he realizes just how great an impact he 
     has made in that role.''
       --Taryn Fielder, B.A., summa cum laude, Eckerd College, 
     1999; J.D., Harvard Law School, 2002


                            Teaching Awards

       Professor Felice joined the Eckerd College faculty in 1995. 
     Since then Professor Felice has received Eckerd College's 
     John M. Bevan

[[Page E2173]]

     Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award (2005), and 
     he has been recognized by the students as Professor of the 
     Year (2003) and by the faculty as the Robert A. Staub 
     Distinguished Teacher of the Year (1999). In 1999, Professor 
     Felice received the APSA Outstanding Teaching in Political 
     Science Award, presented by the American Political Science 
     Association (APSA) and Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political 
     Science Honor Society.
       Professor Felice earned his B.A. in History from the 
     University of Washington; his M.S. in Political Economy from 
     Goddard College; and his Ph.D. in Political Science/
     International Relations from New York University. Prior to 
     joining Eckerd College, he taught at Rhodes College in 
     Memphis, Tenn.


                      Scholarship and Publications

       Professor Felice has published two books that are highly 
     regarded by scholars in the field, Taking Suffering Seriously 
     (1996) and The Global New Deal (2003). In The Global New 
     Deal, Professor Felice wrote, ``There is nothing preordained 
     by either the structure of the international system of states 
     or the economic system of the market that makes economic and 
     social human rights a dream. They are not a utopian fantasy. 
     They can be achieved. The question is: Do we have the courage 
     to walk the path?''
       He has also published numerous articles and academic papers 
     which address international issues and human rights, 
     including, ``Human Rights Disparities between Europe and the 
     United States: Conflicting Approaches to Poverty Prevention 
     and the Alleviation of Suffering,'' (Cambridge Review of 
     International Affairs, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2006) and ``The 
     UN Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial 
     Discrimination,'' (Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1, 
     February 2002). Professor Felice serves on the editorial 
     board of the journal Human Rights and Human Welfare.


          Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs

       During the 2004-05 academic year, in collaboration with the 
     Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs (CCEIA), 
     Professor Felice led a four-part lecture series, ``America 
     and the World: Ethical Dimensions to Power.'' The series 
     inspired a booklet distributed nationally, Ethical Dimensions 
     to American Foreign Policy: A Study Guide to the Four 
     Freedoms. From 1999-2005, he served as a CCEIA Trustee.


                 Engaging the Community in Conversation

       In the 2006-07 Col. Christian L. and Edna M. March 
     International Relations Lecture Series, which is also part of 
     the Presidential Events Series, Professor Felice coordinates 
     the program on ``The Ethics of Economic Globalization.'' 
     Invited speakers this year include Peter Singer, Jagdish 
     Bhagwati, Micheline Ishay and Gita Sen. At The Studio@620 in 
     downtown St. Petersburg, Professor Felice serves as co-
     facilitator of the 620 Round Tables on Social Justic, co-
     sponsored by Eckerd College.

                          ____________________