[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 129 (Thursday, July 31, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S7900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 90TH BIRTHDAY OF DR. MAURICE ALBERTSON

 Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I wish today to make a statement 
celebrating the 90th birthday of Dr. Maurice Albertson, a Colorado 
citizen whose compassion for his fellow human beings is evident in his 
every accomplishment.
  Dr. Albertson has dedicated his career to enhancing the quality of 
life of people all over the world. The success he has had in reaching 
this goal is not just a matter of personal pride, but of global 
triumph. It is with great pleasure that I wish him a happy birthday.
  Dr. Albertson began his career as a professor of civil engineering at 
Colorado State University in 1947. He is responsible for the 
development of CSU's large and prestigious water resources management 
program and was named as director of the Colorado State University 
Research Foundation.
  Dr. Albertson's accomplishments outside of the university are even 
more impressive. At the request of the Southeast Asia Treaty 
Organization, he established a graduate school of engineering in 
Bangkok, Thailand. Known today as the Asian Institute of Technology, 
Dr. Albertson's creation still thrives.
  Dr. Albertson and two colleagues, Ed and Miriam Shinn, convened an 
international conference at CSU on the subject of sustainable village-
based development in the developing world. The conference was attended 
by over 350 persons from 34 nations. Following the conference, Dr. 
Albertson and the Shinns founded Village Earth, an international 
nongovernmental organization that provides training to communities and 
organizations in the methods of sustainable participatory development. 
To date, Village Earth has helped hundreds of people in 15 countries to 
lift themselves out of poverty.
  And perhaps most impressively, Dr. Albertson played a pivotal role in 
the formation of the Peace Corps. In 1960, Dr. Albertson and his team 
won a contract from the U.S. State Department to undertake a 
congressional study of the feasibility of creating a Point Four 
International Youth Corps. The following year, Dr. Albertson coauthored 
New Frontiers for American Youth: Perspective on the Peace Corps with 
Pauline Birky and Andrew Rice. This work was embraced by Sergeant 
Shriver and the Kennedy administration as the concept paper for 
creation of the Peace Corps. Dr. Albertson continued to work closely 
with the Kennedy administration in launching the Peace Corps, which has 
benefited countless volunteers and residents of developing countries 
worldwide.
  Dr. Albertson has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the 
United Nations Development Program, the U.S. Agency for International 
Development, and many other agencies dealing with development issues. 
He has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American 
Society of Civil Engineers, the Colorado Governor's Award of Merit for 
Science and Technology, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from 
Colorado State University in 2006 in recognition of his exceptional 
contributions to industry and developing nations.
  From such an extensive list of achievements, it is abundantly clear 
that Dr. Albertson has had an industrious and meaningful 90 years.
  Dr. Albertson, I am inspired by the life that you have led. Our State 
and our Nation are blessed to have you as a citizen. I wish you a very 
happy birthday.

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