[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 106 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8682-S8683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO BARBARA WHITNEY CARR

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Chicagoans take our green spaces very 
seriously. In fact, if you look at the great seal of the city of 
Chicago, you will see, written in Latin, the city's motto: Urbs in 
Horto--City in a Garden.
  So it seems only natural that Chicago is home to one of America's 
most popular and spectacular gardens: the Chicago Botanic Garden.
  The Botanic Garden is one of the brightest jewels in Chicago's crown 
of great cultural and educational institutions.
  Since its opening in 1972, the Chicago Botanic Garden has provided a 
385-acre island of beauty and tranquility just outside of one of 
America's biggest and busiest cities.
  Today, it is the second-most visited public garden in the country, 
drawing appreciative visitors from throughout the Chicago area and 
around the globe.
  Part of what makes the Chicago Botanic Garden so extraordinary is the 
dedication, vision and inexhaustible energy of the woman who has served 
as its president for the last 12 years, Barbara Whitney Carr.
  With a great sense of gratitude--and a touch of sadness I would like 
to wish Barbara Carr well as she prepares to step down from the Botanic 
Garden and begin a new chapter in her life. More importantly, I want to 
thank her for all she has done to make the Chicago Botanic Garden a 
beautiful oasis, a popular tourist attraction, and an important 
teaching tool.
  Like Daniel Burnham, the legendary planner who redesigned Chicago 
after the Great Fire of 1871, Barbara Carr ``make(s) no little plans.''
  She joined the Botanic Garden as president and CEO in 1995 and 
immediately set to work developing and carrying out a 10-year, $100 
million improvement plan.
  Her plan included renovation and construction of eight gardens, as 
well as the restoration of close to 6 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline.
  Under her direction, the Chicago Botanic Garden has expanded its 
collection to include more than 2 million plants.
  While it is undeniably beautiful, the Chicago Botanic Garden prides 
itself on being more than just a pretty garden. Under Barbara Carr's 
leadership, the garden has truly become a living museum and classroom. 
Students from the Chicago Public Schools attend programs at the garden 
in which they learn about the science of plants and the importance 
preserving biodiversity.
  And you don't even have to visit the Botanic Garden to learn from it. 
Working with the University of Illinois at Chicago, the garden created 
an online, searchable database of plant species that can help even the 
most inexperienced gardener. It is called eplants.org. If you have a 
garden you might want to bookmark that site. It is a good one.
  A few years ago, Barbara Carr realized that in Chicago--one of the 
greenest cities in the country--there weren't a lot of advanced degree 
programs in horticulture and botany, and she quickly set about to fill 
that gap. She initiated the creation of an Academic Affairs Program at 
the Botanic Garden and teamed with Northwestern University, the 
Illinois Institute of Technology, and the University of Illinois to 
develop several outstanding academic programs.
  In recent years the garden has become the site of cutting edge 
research in the fields of botany and environmental conservation.
  In recent years the garden has become the site of cutting edge 
research in the fields of botany and environmental conservation. It is 
home to an impressive seed repository called the Seeds of Success 
program, part of a global initiative to collect and store native seeds 
in order to preserve plant biodiversity.
  Over the years, both Barbara and the garden have received many 
accolades. The garden was recognized for its educational programs and 
community outreach projects with the National Award for Museum and 
Library Service in 2004. This prestigious honor is the highest award 
bestowed upon a museum. Earlier this year, the American Public Garden 
Association presented Barbara with the 2007 Award of Merit, the 
organization's highest honor.
  Before joining the Botanic Garden, Barbara Carr earned a degree from 
Denison University in Ohio. She spent nearly 20 years at the Lincoln 
Park Zoological Society, serving as its executive director and 
president.

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  To say that Barbara is ``retiring'' somehow doesn't seem quite right. 
It would be more accurate to say that she is redirecting her energies. 
I have no doubt that Barbara will remain involved in her community and 
committed to the many causes in which she believes so deeply. She will 
also have the opportunity to spend more time with her family: her 
husband Robert F. Carr III--better known as Tad their six children, and 
11 grandchildren.
  I join the residents of Chicago, the ``city in a garden,'' in 
thanking Barbara Whitney Carr for helping to create a garden in our 
city that makes us all proud.

                          ____________________