[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 38 (Thursday, March 6, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1716-S1717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONGRATULATING IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 475.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 475) congratulating Iowa State 
     University of Science and Technology on its 150 years of 
     leadership and service to the United States and the world as 
     Iowa's land-grant university.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on behalf of my alma 
mater, Iowa Sate University, and recognize it upon its 150 years of 
leadership and service to the United States and the world as Iowa's 
land-grant university.
  Iowa State has a colorful and progressive history. The university was 
founded under the Morrill Land Grant College Act of 1862. 
Representative Justin Smith Morrill, who wrote the bill, and Abraham 
Lincoln, who signed the act into law in the midst of the Civil War, had 
the vision to establish a public institution that provided and still 
provides a top flight, affordable education for people of all walks of 
life.
  Iowa was the first State to accept the terms of the Morrill land 
grant and pioneered all three parts of its mission. The act calls for 
schools that provide ``access to all, regardless of race, gender, or 
class.'' The act also limits funding to only schools that conduct 
``Practical Research.'' Finally, the Morrill Land Grant Act calls for 
the schools provided for to serve significant ``outreach'' in the 
surrounding community.
  Iowa State has certainly lived up to those lofty words of the Morrill 
Act. Iowa State University has been home to some of the most important 
technological and agricultural advances in history. Professor John 
Atanasoff and graduate student Clifford Berry of ISU have been credited 
with the invention of the electronic digital computer in

[[Page S1717]]

the late 1930s. When they constructed the Atanasoff-Berry computer, 
they were the first to incorporate the seven basic principles of modern 
computing.
  Professor Henry Gilman laid the foundation for the modern plastics 
industry with his research in polyethylene materials. In the 1920s, ISU 
was home to the development of hybrid seed corn. Professor Orland 
Sweeney conducted pioneering work on soybean oil extraction and 
producing ethanol from corn and other plant materials in the 1930s.
  Iowa State has produced such esteemed graduates as George Washington 
Carver, a man who shattered the glass ceiling for minority inventors, 
women's rights activist Carrie Chapman Catt, and astronaut Clayton 
Anderson, just to name a few.
  John Garang, who earned a Ph.D. in economics from Iowa State, not 
only went on to serve as vice president of Sudan, but in his role as 
leader of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army worked to end his 
country's violent civil war.
  One cannot forget to mention that Mildred Day, the inventor of Rice 
Krispies treats, also graduated from Iowa State. In addition to 
Mildred, former CEOs of Boeing, Dow Corning, 3-M, and Lockheed Martin 
have all claimed Iowa State University as their alma mater, as do I.
  I attended ISU on a Naval ROTC scholarship. The program covered my 
books and tuition, as well as $50 a month to cover extra expenses. I 
was well taken care of at ISU. With NROTC and a loan from the National 
Defense Scholarship Program, started under President Eisenhower, I was 
able to make it through college and flourish.
  It is my honor today to stand in support of my resolution honoring 
Iowa State for its long and storied history of graduating men and women 
who are creative, productive, and innovative. As the ISU fight song 
goes, ``Loyal sons forever true, and we will fight the battle through. 
And when we hit that line we'll hit it hard ev'ry yard for I.S.U.''
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I support this resolution to honor 
the service and leadership of Iowa State University. I am cosponsoring 
this resolution because I know firsthand the substantial contributions 
that Iowa State has made to both Iowa and the Nation as a whole. In 
fact, as one of the first land-grant universities, it has led the way 
in technology advancement and outreach.
  Iowa State University will celebrate 150 years of service to the 
United States this month. The university is a leader in agricultural, 
engineering, and computer science technologies. They have been pioneers 
in the education of minorities and women. Because of these 
advancements, Iowa State University is recognized throughout the world 
as a standard for excellence in education, practical research, and 
outreach through extension.
  Iowa State is a great representative for the people of our State and 
will continue to leave an important legacy for our Nation. It is with 
great respect that I introduce this resolution in honor of Iowa State 
University's 150th year anniversary.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any 
statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 475) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 475

       Whereas Iowa State University of Science and Technology was 
     established by the Iowa General Assembly on March 22, 1858, 
     as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm in response 
     to the State of Iowa's desire to provide higher education 
     opportunities to farm families and working classes in Iowa, 
     predating the passage of the Federal Morrill Act by 4 years;
       Whereas on September 3, 1862, Iowa became the first State 
     in the Nation to accept the terms and conditions of the 
     Morrill Act creating the land-grant system of colleges and 
     universities;
       Whereas the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, known 
     today as Iowa State University of Science and Technology 
     (Iowa State), received Iowa's land-grant charter on March 29, 
     1864, making it one of the first land-grant institutions in 
     the Nation;
       Whereas Iowa State was a pioneer in all 3 parts of the 
     land-grant mission, including--(1) access to all, regardless 
     of race, gender or social class, being the first land-grant 
     institution to be coeducational from its opening, with 16 
     women in its first class and later students including future 
     suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, an 1880 graduate, and George 
     Washington Carver, the first African American student, who 
     earned a bachelor's degree in 1894 and a master's degree in 
     1896, and was also the institution's first African American 
     faculty member; (2) practical research, establishing the 
     Nation's first Engineering Experiment Station and domestic 
     economy experimental kitchen, and one of the first 
     agriculture experiment stations; and (3) outreach, including 
     some of the earliest land-grant institution outreach 
     activities such as the establishment of the Farmers 
     Institutes in the winter of 1869-70 by Iowa State President 
     Adonijah Welch, and the organization of the Nation's first 
     county Extension Service in 1903 in Sioux County in northwest 
     Iowa by Professor Perry Holden;
       Whereas some of the most important technological 
     advancements of the modern world were the result of research 
     at Iowa State, including--(1) the development of hybrid seed 
     corn in the 1920s; (2) pioneering work on soybean oil 
     extraction and producing ethanol from corn and other plant 
     materials by Professor Orland Sweeney in the 1930s; (3) the 
     invention of the electronic digital computer in the late 
     1930s by Professor John Atanasoff and graduate student 
     Clifford Berry, whose Atanasoff-Berry Computer was the first 
     to incorporate the 7 basic principles of modern computing; 
     (4) the foundation for the modern plastics industry laid by 
     polyethylene research by Professor Henry Gilman; (5) 
     development of the process still used today to refine pure 
     rare-earth materials, including reactor-grade uranium, by 
     Professor Frank Spedding and Harley Wilhelm, as a result of 
     Iowa State's key role in the Manhattan Project during World 
     War II; (6) development of modern livestock animal genetics 
     by Professor Jay Lush; and (7) the first field-testing of a 
     genetically altered plant (tobacco) in 1987 and genetically 
     altered tree (poplar) in 1989 by Professor Robert Thornburg;
       Whereas Iowa State hired one of the first permanent campus 
     artists-in-residence, with sculptor Christian Petersen 
     holding that position from 1934 to 1955 and providing 
     hundreds of sculptures and other art objects to the 
     university, whose Art on Campus collection today includes 
     more than 600 major public works of art;
       Whereas Iowa State has had a technology transfer office 
     since 1935, longer than all but one other university in the 
     Nation, and is acknowledged today as a national leader in 
     putting technology to work, being cited as a ``model of 
     economic development'' and ``licensing powerhouse'' in a 2007 
     study commissioned by the National Science Foundation;
       Whereas Iowa State University is today spearheading new 
     advances in science and technology, including new materials, 
     information sciences, green architecture, biological 
     research, and the development of biorenewable fuels and other 
     resources to support the bioeconomy and the Nation's 
     independence from nonrenewable petroleum resources; and
       Whereas more than 257,000 degrees have been awarded by Iowa 
     State, and its graduates include heads of State, leaders of 
     industry, great humanitarians, and gifted scientists, whose 
     work has improved the quality of life for people worldwide: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates Iowa State University of Science and 
     Technology on its 150 years of outstanding service to the 
     State of Iowa, the United States, and the world in fulfilling 
     its mission as a land-grant university; and
       (2) thanks the State of Iowa for its visionary leadership 
     in the beginning of the land-grant movement in the United 
     States of America.

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