[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 51 (Friday, March 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT STEPHEN 
                           JOEL TRACHTENBERG

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CLIFF STEARNS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 23, 2007

  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, today I want to pay tribute to an 
exceptional man who is retiring in July after 19 years of impeccable 
service to The George Washington University (GW).
   Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, 68, became the 15th president of GW on 
August 1, 1988. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Trachtenberg earned a 
bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University in 1959, the Juris 
Doctor from Yale University in 1962, and the master of public 
administration degree from Harvard University in 1966. In 1968, he was 
selected as a Winston Churchill Traveling Fellow for study in Oxford, 
England.
  He came to GW from the University of Hartford (CT), where he had been 
president for 11 years. Before assuming the presidency of Hartford, 
Trachtenberg served for 8 years at Boston University as vice president 
for academic services and academic dean of the College of Liberal Arts. 
Earlier, in Washington, DC, he was a special assistant for 2 years to 
the U.S. Education Commissioner, Department of Health, Education and 
Welfare. He has been an attorney with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission 
and a legislative aide to former Indiana Congressman John Brademas.
  Just a few of the highlights in his career include the following: 
Trachtenberg was named one of the Top 100 Leaders in the American 
Academy in a 1978 Change magazine poll. He received a 1987 Human 
Relations Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews. In 
1988 the Connecticut Bar Association honored him with its Distinguished 
Public Service Award, and he was recognized by the Hartford NAACP for 
his contributions to the education of minority students. In 1992 he 
received The Hannah G. Solomon Award from the National Council of 
Jewish Women. In 1993 the Washington, DC Urban League named him 
``Father of the Year.'' And in 1992 and 2007 he received the Martin 
Luther King, Jr. awards.
  President Trachtenberg has served the GW community as a drum major 
for change and has lead by example a commitment to public, civic and 
personal service. Throughout the years, he has worked tirelessly in 
honoring and enhancing the symbiotic relationship between the 
University and the District of Columbia, supporting and mentoring 
students, and leading and advocating for re-invention, change and civic 
engagement. He has worked successfully for almost two decades to propel 
GW further into the first ranks of world-class institutions of higher 
learning. I would like to boast some of the national rankings that GW 
has earned in recent years:
  Foreign Affairs magazine ranked GW's Master's in International 
Affairs program number 7 in the top 20, and the undergraduate program 
number 10 out of the top 20.
  For 2007, U.S. News and World Report ranks GW's Law School #19.
  In 2006, GW is ranked #3 in intellectual property law.
  Princeton Review ranks GW's Law School #10 for Best Career Prospects.
  U.S. News & World Report, in August 2006, ranked 42nd Undergraduate 
Business Program which was GW's Seventh consecutive year in the top 50.
  GW ranked 70th in Full-Time MBA Programs by U.S. News & World Report, 
in April 2006.
  Also U.S. News & World Report, in April 2006, ranked GW one of the 
Top 25 Graduate Business Specialties in International Business, and in 
August of that year ranked GW's undergraduate specialty program in 
International Business.
  As a result of President Trachtenberg's efforts the number of 
applications for undergraduate admission more than tripled (from 6,000 
in 1988 to almost 20,000 in 2006) while the University's acceptance 
rate of these applicants was reduced by two-thirds. President 
Trachtenberg made financial aid for students a priority so that today 
the University offers nearly nine times ($113 million) as much 
financial aid to incoming students as was offered in 1988.
  It can confidently be said that the University's faculty now 
comprises experts on topics ranging from administrative law to zoology 
and contribute to scholarly journals, law reviews, and media outlets on 
a regular basis. The University's sponsored research enterprise has 
quadrupled from $33 million in expenditures in 1988 to $132 million in 
expenditures in 2006. Through President Trachtenberg's efforts, GW has 
significantly upgraded its information technology and library system 
which now contains more than 2,000,000 volumes and is a member of the 
prestigious Association of Research Libraries.
  Under President Trachtenberg's unprecedented leadership, the 
University robustly developed academic, residential, and recreational 
facilities on campus--including the opening of the Media and Public 
Affairs Building and the establishment within of the Luther W. Brady 
Art Gallery (2001), the Annette and Theodore Lerner Health and Wellness 
Center (2001), GW Hospital (2002), 1957 E Street, the new home of GW' s 
Elliott School of International Affairs and Geography Department 
(2002), and Ric and Dawn Duques Hall, the new home of GW' s Business 
School (2006)--in a way that served the institution's scholarly and 
other programmatic needs while respecting the interests of its Foggy 
Bottom neighbors. A few years ago, the Washington Post Magazine 
featured a cover story on President Trachtenberg, focusing on his 
expansionist visions, and skillful negotiations with the local 
residents. While every university President at one time or another 
finds him or herself embroiled in ``town versus gown'' dealings, 
President Trachtenberg has such a presence that he has earned himself 
the nickname ``Hurricane Steve''. I think that he appreciates the 
appellation, because it signifies that in a town with many egos and 
agendas, and a lot of talk not always accompanied by action, he is able 
to get things done.
  President Trachtenberg's commitment to the enhancement of academic 
and other space on campus supported the renovation and expansion of the 
Law School complex (begun in 2000 and completed in 2006), the 
renovation of Morton and Norma Lee Funger Hall (dedicated in February 
2006), and improvements of the Cloyd Heck Marvin Center including the 
addition of the Marc C. Abrahms Great Hall (dedicated in December 2002) 
and the renovation of J Street dining facilities (opened August 2004).
  President Trachtenberg also spearheaded a campus beautification 
effort that transformed a series of city streets into a cohesive and 
vibrant urban campus with the addition of the Mid-Campus Quad, Kogan 
Plaza, pocket parks, and outdoor sculptures.
  President Trachtenberg presides over the District of Columbia's 
largest private employer. And to support all the foregoing, President 
Trachtenberg oversaw two decades of balanced budgets, and the increase 
in the University endowment from $200 million in 1988 to more than $1 
billion in 2007.
  In 1989, President Trachtenberg created the 21st Century DC Scholars 
Program (now the Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholars), which has granted 
almost 100 full scholarships, representing over $13 million, to 
students from the DC Public Schools to attend GW. Under Trachtenberg's 
leadership, GW's Multicultural Student Services Center was named, and 
has become a strong center for cultural awareness and celebrations, 
student development, and diversity training. Additionally, the Office 
of Community Service was created in 1992 and has become a focal point 
for civic engagement for the Washington, DC community. His dedication 
to civic service is reflected throughout the University, which was 
named a ``college with a conscience'' in 2005 by Princeton Review, and 
most recently in the top 10 schools sending students to the Peace 
Corps.

  His passion and demonstrated commitment to DC--the city, the schools, 
the business community and its residents--are unparalleled and have 
been recognized on several occasions by the District of Columbia Mayor, 
City Council and Chamber of Commerce. President Trachtenberg has 
received numerous accolades from across the nation and abroad for his 
service, vision, intellect, wit and compassion. Thanks to President 
Trachtenberg, GW went from being one of the best-kept secrets in town 
to being one of the best-known and most admired global universities.




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