[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 57 (Thursday, April 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E577-E578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING DR. HWA-WEI LEE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 2008

  Mr. HONDA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the many 
contributions and achievements of Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee. After an esteemed 5 
years as the chief of the Asian Division at the Library of Congress--a 
bookend to his dedicated 50 years in the library profession, Dr. Lee is 
retiring.
  Before joining the Library of Congress in 2003, Dr. Lee had already 
achieved a distinguished career in the pursuit and preservation of 
knowledge. He first served at the Main Library of the University of 
Pittsburgh, where he also completed two master's degrees and a Ph.D. He 
then advanced his career working at many other libraries, including 
Duquesne University, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Asian 
Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand, Colorado State 
University, and Ohio University. Dr. Lee was Dean of Libraries at Ohio 
University for 21 years. During that time, he was able to transform a 
relatively unassuming university library into a prestigious member of 
the Association of Research Libraries, and ranked among the top 70 
academic research libraries in North America. Recognizing Dr. Lee's 
numerous and incredible accomplishments, Ohio University displayed its 
enormous appreciation of Dr. Lee by not only naming the first floor of 
its main library the Hwa-Wei Lee Center for International Collections, 
but also dedicating a new library annex after him.
  During his short tenure at the Library of Congress, Dr. Lee focused 
his energy on completely rejuvenating and reorganizing the Asian 
Division. He introduced innovative programs designed to improve and 
expand the division's resources, collections, services, and outreach.

[[Page E578]]

  As chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, it has 
been my privilege to have collaborated with Dr. Lee and his dedicated 
staff at the Asian Division. Our shared pursuit to tell the complete 
Asian American and Pacific Islander, AAPI, story and dispel the cloak 
of invisibility and mischaracterization upon the community has given 
life to a new AAPI Collection at the Library of Congress. This is 
another milestone of Dr. Lee's storied career.
  Dr. Lee and his lovely wife Mary will soon move to Florida to bask in 
the sunny rays of retirement. But I suspect that he will not slow down, 
and will continue his many pursuits. As anyone who has met Dr. Lee can 
attest, his boundless, enthusiastic spirit will not allow him to stay 
idle. In fact, he has already promised to visit the Library frequently 
and is eager to start his new role as board director of the Asian 
Division Friends Society.
  Madam Speaker, I commend Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee for his dedication and many 
contributions to the librarian profession and am especially grateful 
for his nurturing leadership of the Asian Division and of the 
establishment of the AAPI Collection at the Library of Congress. I wish 
Dr. Lee and his family all the best for his retirement and their future 
endeavors.

                          ____________________