[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 177 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF SOUTH TEXAS COLLEGE

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                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 20, 2008

  Mr. CUELLAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 15th 
Anniversary of South Texas College to congratulate them for enrolling 
22,000 students, the highest amount enrolled in South Texas College's 
history.
  The South Texas College was created by the Texas legislature in 1993 
and signed into law by former Governor Ann Richards. They are only one 
of three community colleges in Texas accredited to offer bachelors 
degrees and the only community college in the state to offer two 
Bachelor of Applied Technology Degrees. Their faculty and staff of over 
1,500 have been leaders in higher education by not only providing 
education to college students, but by providing unique workforce 
training programs and the College Express dual enrollment high school 
program. Partnered with sixteen school districts in Hidalgo and Starr 
Counties, these programs help minority students find a pathway to 
higher-paying careers in math and science.
  In recent years, South Texas College received the MetLife 
Foundation's 2008 Community College Excellence Award for promoting 
educational and economic advancement, thirty-one Excellence Awards from 
the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development in 
2008, and the Government Finance Officers Association of the United 
States and Canada's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in 
Financial Reporting for 2003 through 2007.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize South Texas College for 
their record enrollment in 2008, and I thank you for this time.

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