[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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