[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 194 (Tuesday, December 18, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15905-S15906]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO DR. DOUGLAS C. PATTERSON

 Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, today I commend a distinguished 
resident of the State of Alabama, Dr. Douglas C. Patterson on the 
occasion of his retirement from Troy University. Upon receiving his 
bachelor's degree from Alabama College in 1967, Patterson was 
commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a 
platoon commander for a Combat Engineer Platoon and as an intelligence 
officer for the First Engineer Battalion of the First Marine Division 
in the Republic of Vietnam.
  Upon returning from Vietnam, Patterson received his masters from the 
University of Montevallo and his doctorate from the University of 
Alabama. Dr. Patterson's experience includes serving as a high school 
counselor, director of Counseling and Career Services at Jefferson 
State Junior College, vice president for instruction at the Alabama 
Institute for the Deaf and Blind and currently, he serves as the senior 
vice chancellor for administration for Troy University.
  Dr. Patterson has served Troy University with great honor and 
distinction as a senior administrator since 1989 and has provided 
exemplary service to the university and to the citizens of the State of 
Alabama. During his tenure as senior vice chancellor for 
administration, Dr. Patterson directed

[[Page S15906]]

the institution's finance and budgeting, information technology, 
institutional effectiveness, television and radio, strategic planning, 
athletics, and day-to-day operations. Under his leadership, the 
University has enjoyed an unprecedented era of growth, doubling 
worldwide student enrollment to almost 30,000 students. Dr. Patterson 
has been instrumental in Troy University's glowing record of 
stewardship and financial stability, garnering praise and awards from 
the National Association of College and University Business Officers 
and earning TROY recognition as a ``Best Value'' university from such 
publications as MONEY Magazine and The Princeton Review. Dr. Patterson 
played a key role in the university's decision to move Troy University 
athletics to the highest level of NCAA competition, bringing national 
recognition to the university and fostering pride among its students, 
alumni, and friends. Dr. Patterson was recently honored by Troy 
University as the Honorary Alumnus of the Year for 2007.
  I commend Dr. Douglas C. Patterson, on the occasion of his retirement 
from Troy University, for his leadership in Alabama higher education 
and for his outstanding service to Alabama and our country.

                          ____________________