[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 3, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E182-E183]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NYU'S JOHN BRADEMAS AWARDED HONORARY DEGREE BY UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE DONNELLY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2009

  Mr. DONNELLY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to take note of an honor 
received last month by former Member of Congress, John Brademas, who 
served for 22 years in the House of Representatives from the then Third 
District of Indiana.
  He was awarded, by the University of Barcelona, the honorary degree 
of doctor of laws, his 54th honorary degree.
  A Democrat, John Brademas was, during the Administrations of six 
Presidents of the United States, an active member of the House 
Committee on Education and Labor where he authored or co-authored 
legislation to support schools, colleges and universities; support for 
libraries and museums; and programs for children, the elderly and the 
disabled.
  In his last four years in Congress, John Brademas was Majority Whip 
of the House of Representatives.
  Defeated in his campaign for reelection in 1980, John Brademas was 
shortly thereafter invited to become president of New York University, 
the largest private, or independent, university in the United States. 
John Brademas led the transformation of New York University from a 
regional--New York, New Jersey, Connecticut--commuter institution into 
a national and international residential research university.
  John Brademas graduated from Harvard University, with a B.A., with 
high honors, in 1949; then went on to Oxford University, England, as a 
Rhodes Scholar, for three years, 1951-1953. At Oxford he earned a Ph.D. 
with a dissertation on the anarcho-syndicalist movement in Spain from 
the mid-1920s through the first year of the Spanish Civil War, 1936. 
The anarchist movement in Spain was centered in Catalonia and, 
therefore, the research brought him to Barcelona on a number of 
occasions. His study was published in Spanish, in Barcelona, in 1974 by 
Ariel under the title, ``Anarcosindicalismo y revolucion en Espana, 
1930-37,'' in a translation by Dr. Joaquin Romero Maura.
  In presenting the degree, Professor Mercedes Vilanova spoke of John 
Brademas' service in the U.S. House of Representatives and of his 
legislative record there as well as of his leadership at New York 
University, now, she said, ``one of the premier universities in the 
world, a rival of Ivy League universities like Harvard or Yale''. She 
added that John Brademas had been named ``one of the four most 
important persons in American higher education''.
  Presiding at the ceremony was the Rector of the University, Dr. Didac 
Ramirez i Sarrio.
  Said John Brademas, ``To receive an honorary degree from one of the 
outstanding universities of Europe, indeed, the world, is profoundly 
gratifying.

       I am especially appreciative of this honor because of my 
     interest throughout most of my life in Spain and, in 
     particular, Catalonia.

  Madam Speaker, I am sure that John Brademas' former colleagues and 
his many friends will be most pleased at this latest honor he has 
received.
  I ask consent to insert at this point in the Record the text of John 
Brademas' remarks on receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws 
from the University of Barcelona on December 1, 2008. His statement 
follows:

       Rector Ramirez, Professor Vilanova, members of the faculty 
     and students of the University of Barcelona, and friends, to 
     receive a grado honoris causa from one of the outstanding 
     universities of Europe, indeed, the world, is, of course, 
     profoundly gratifying.
       This honor comes from a country, Spain, and a region, 
     Catalonia, to which I have devoted considerable scholarly 
     attention and so is particularly meaningful for me.
       You have been told, in the generous words of Professor 
     Vilanova, about my life--my education, my career as a Member 
     of the Congress of the United States and as President of New 
     York University--and of my activities in a variety of 
     organizations dedicated to the arts and the humanities.
       But, of course, I am especially appreciative of this honor 
     because of my interest throughout most of my life in Spain 
     and, in particular, Catalonia.
       I had the good fortune, as you have been told, of studying 
     at two of the greatest universities in the world, Harvard and 
     Oxford. While in grade school, I read a fascinating book 
     about Mayan civilization. I started learning Spanish, then as 
     a high school senior hitchhiked to Mexico and, as a Harvard 
     undergraduate, spent a summer with other college men working 
     in Aztec Indian villages in rural Mexico. I wrote my senior 
     honors thesis at Harvard on the Sinarquista movement, a far 
     right-wing peasant movement important in Mexico in the late 
     1930s and early '40s.


                 ANARCHO-SYNDICALIST MOVEMENT IN SPAIN

       At Oxford, I wrote a doctoral dissertation on Spain and, by 
     way of preparation, reading the seminal book by Gerald 
     Brenan, The Spanish Labyrinth, on the origins of the Spanish 
     Civil War, I learned that Spain was the only country with a 
     mass working-class movement, based not on the ideas of Karl 
     Marx but of Bakunin and Kropotkin, the anarchist theorists.
       So I wrote to Brenan, then living in Malaga, to ask his 
     advice on how to go about studying the anarchist movement in 
     Spain. He responded that I should see the headwaiter of a 
     Spanish restaurant in the West End of London, an anarchist, 
     who in turn put me in touch with the headquarters of the 
     Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo, the anarcho-syndicalist 
     organization, then in exile in Paris. This was in 1952, I 
     remind you, and Franco was in power. I was warmly received by 
     the officials of the CNT in Paris.
       Indeed, they arranged meetings for me in Toulouse and 
     Bordeaux with Federica Montseny, the anarchist leader, and 
     Jose Peirats, the historian of Spanish anarchism.
       My interviews with Montseny and Peirats were immensely 
     helpful to me and opened doors to others here in Barcelona as 
     well as to an important collection of materials on anarchism 
     in Spain, located in The Netherlands, in Amsterdam, at the 
     International Institute for Social History.
       My supervisor when I wrote my dissertation was the British 
     historian of Spain, Raymond Carr.
       Here I must note, as you have been told, that my study of 
     the anarcho-syndicalist movement was published, in Spanish, 
     in 1974 in Barcelona, by Ariel, under the title, 
     Anarcosindicalismo y revolucion en Espana (1930-1937). The 
     translation was done by my friend, also a scholar at Oxford, 
     Joaquin Romero Maura, descendant of the respected Spanish 
     leader, Miguel Maura.


                          SERVICE IN CONGRESS

       I like to say that although I studied anarchism, I did not 
     practice it! For only months after I completed my study and 
     returned from Oxford to my hometown in Indiana, I became the 
     nominee of the Democratic Party for election to Congress from 
     my native constituency. I lost that first race, in 1954, then 
     served on the Presidential campaign staff of Adlai Stevenson 
     in 1956, a year when both Stevenson and I lost a second time. 
     But I ran a third time, and in 1958 was first elected to the 
     United States House of Representatives. I was then ten times 
     reelected and so served in Congress for 22 years.
       A member of the Committee with responsibility for writing 
     education legislation, I took part in writing all the laws 
     enacted during those years, 1959 to 1981, during the 
     Administrations of six Presidents--three Republicans: 
     Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford; and three Democrats: Kennedy, 
     Johnson and Carter--laws to assist schools, colleges and 
     universities; students who attend them; the arts and the 
     humanities; libraries and museums; and measures to help 
     children, the elderly, the disabled.
       You will not be surprised that as a member of the 
     Democratic Party in my country and, indeed, as a citizen, I 
     rejoice in the election last month of Barack Obama as 
     President of the United States and of Democratic majorities 
     in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
       Defeated for reelection in Ronald Reagan's landslide 
     victory in 1980, I was shortly thereafter invited to become 
     president of New York University, the largest independent, or 
     private, university in the United States, with some 50,000 
     students.
       Given my background I directed particular attention at 
     NYU--as we call the University--to encouraging the study of 
     other countries, and I established a Center for Japan-U.S. 
     Business & Economic Studies in our School of Business; a 
     Remarque Institute for European and Mediterranean Studies; a 
     Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies; with help 
     from the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation, a professorship in 
     Hellenic Studies; and, with funds from CITGO, the U.S. branch 
     of Venezuelan Petroleum, a chair in Latin American Studies in 
     the name

[[Page E183]]

     of Andres Bello, the Venezuelan leader and tutor of Simon 
     Bolivar.
       And there is also now a Center of Islamic Studies at NYU.
       In addition, there are thousands of students from countries 
     all over the world attending classes in New York City, and 
     particularly important, New York University now has a number 
     of centers abroad--in London, Paris, Prague, Florence and 
     Ghana. We have just celebrated the 50th anniversary of NYU in 
     Madrid, an opportunity that enabled me recently to have the 
     privilege of an audience with His Majesty, King Juan Carlos I 
     of Spain. And we are now opening campuses in Abu Dhabi, 
     Buenos Aires and Shanghai and before long will do so in 
     Mexico.


               KING JUAN CARLOS I OF SPAIN CENTER AT NYU

       But, of course, I take particular pride in the creation at 
     NYU of the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, a Center for 
     the study of modern Spain, a Center I dedicated just ten 
     years ago in the presence of His Majesty, the King; Her 
     Majesty, Queen Sofia, of the Greek Royal Family; and the then 
     First Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
       Here I note that we have established a foundation to raise 
     funds to support the activities of the Center. I am President 
     of the Foundation; His Majesty, King Juan Carlos, has 
     graciously agreed to serve as Honorary President; Jesus Sainz 
     Munoz, of Promo Madrid, is Vice President.
       In 1983, I had the privilege of awarding an honorary degree 
     to His Majesty and announcing the creation of a professorship 
     in his name under which we have invited leading scholars of 
     modern Spain to lecture at New York University, including 
     Raymond Carr, Francisco Ayala, Jose Maria Maravall, Hugh 
     Thomas, Jon Juaristi, Estrella de Diego, Victor Perez-Diaz, 
     Juan Goytisolo and Baltasar Garzon.
       The founding Director of the Center was Professor James 
     Fernandez, who served with great dedication from 1995 until 
     2007; he was succeeded by another outstanding scholar of 
     Spanish culture, Professor Jo Labanyi. I here must also 
     salute the Director of the King Juan Carlos Center office in 
     Madrid, John Healey, who has known Spain for many years.
       Another distinguished leader who has lectured at our King 
     Juan Carlos I of Spain Center is a longtime friend, someone 
     well known to all of you and with whom I met only weeks ago 
     in New York City, the distinguished former Mayor of Barcelona 
     and President of the Generalitat, Pasqual Maragall i Mira. I 
     also saw Mayor Maragall, by the way, at the Queen Sofia 
     Spanish Institute, of which I am a trustee, where we were 
     hosted by another friend of many years, president of the 
     Institute, Inmaculada de Habsburgo.
       Pasqual's contribution to the King Juan Carlos I of Spain 
     Center was consolidated in 1998 when he spent a semester as 
     Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center. Under his 
     direction, the Center organized an international symposium, 
     ``A World of Cities,'' attended by mayors and other urban 
     leaders from Latin America as well as Spain and the United 
     States.
       As you can see, my relationship with Catalonia does not end 
     with my study of anarchism. An important chapter revolves 
     around the University of Barcelona, as I shall explain.


                         catalan studies at nyu

       When in 1981 I became president of New York University, I 
     was approached by Xavier Rubert de Ventos and the then new 
     Mayor of Barcelona, Pasqual Maragall, together with the 
     Rector of the University of Barcelona, Dr. Antoni Badia i 
     Margarit, and Mary Ann Newman, at the time an NYU graduate 
     student. They all urged me to create the Catedra Barcelona-
     Nova York, a program of Catalan Studies and educational 
     exchange between our two institutions. The City Hall of 
     Barcelona and the U.S.-Spain Fulbright Commission financed 
     the project.
       In the first years of the Catedra, which lasted from 1983 
     to 1986, NYU hosted, among others, Marti de Riquer, Xavier 
     Rubert de Ventos, Eugenio Trias, Lluis Izquierdo, Pep 
     Subiros, Mary Nash and Jordi Llovet.
       Anthony Bonner offered a four-part seminar on Ramon Llull 
     to coincide with the publication by Princeton University 
     Press of his groundbreaking translation, Selected Works by 
     Ramon Llull. There were also lectures by Miguel Roca, David 
     Rosenthal and, I am pleased to say, Merce Vilanova. By the 
     way, I must here note an excellent article by Professor 
     Vilanova, ``Anarchism, Political Participation and Illiteracy 
     in Barcelona Between 1934 and 1936'', published in the 
     American Historical Review.
       The Catalan language classes at NYU also bore fruit. One of 
     the most prominent North American specialists in Catalan art, 
     Professor Robert Lubar of the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU, 
     studied Catalan in his program. He has been the mentor of a 
     generation of Catalan experts, including two NYU professors, 
     Jordana Mendelson and Miriam Basilio, and the curator of the 
     current exhibition on Joan Miro at the Museum of Modern Art, 
     Dr. Anne Umland.
       Two years ago, the office of President Maragall of the 
     Generalitat earmarked funds to establish the Catalan Center 
     at New York University through the Institute Ramon Lull, 
     which also provided funds to teach Catalan language and 
     culture in our Department of Spanish and Portuguese.
       The Catalan Center at New York University, led most ably by 
     Mary Ann Newman, has proved to be a dynamic partner in the 
     NYU Center for European and Mediterranean Studies and a close 
     partner of our King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center.
       For example, the Catalan Center, organized two years ago, 
     has sponsored the following events:
       ``A Mediterranean Mirror,'' an exhibition of books on 
     Catalan law, an opening attended by President Ernest Benach 
     of the Parliament of Catalonia, and Director of the Institut 
     Ramon Llull, Josep Bargallo.
       The Catalan Center has also sponsored a symposium titled, 
     ``Exalted by the Old, in Love with the New'', to accompany 
     the exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, ``Barcelona and 
     Modernity: Gaudi, Picasso, Dali''.
       The Catalan Center has collaborated as well with the Museum 
     of Modern Art in New York City on three events involving 
     Catalan culture: a Pere Portabella film series; an exhibition 
     on Salvador Dali, ``Art and Film''; and the current 
     exhibition on Joan Miro.
       Last September, The Catalan Center also co-hosted a 
     conference on ``The New Mediterranean,'' in cooperation with 
     the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), an 
     institution based in Barcelona that promotes research and 
     dialogue on the North-South relationship in the 
     Mediterranean.
       Only weeks ago, I add, Professor Vilanova joined us in New 
     York for a symposium on the distinguished Catalan novelist, 
     Mercedes Rodoredo.
       And last month, by way of illustrating our efforts to 
     cooperate with other relevant organizations, the King Juan 
     Carlos I of Spain Center hosted, with the Abraham Lincoln 
     Brigade Archives, which promotes discussion of the Spanish 
     Civil War, ``La Despedida'', an event to recall how the 
     people of Barcelona, in October 1938, bade farewell to the 
     volunteers from many nations who came to defend the Republic.
       So you can see from what I have told you that our 
     university has made a serious, indeed, deep, commitment to 
     the study of Catalonia and of Spain.
       I trust you will understand, therefore, from what I've 
     said, why I am so profoundly moved by the honor that the 
     University of Barcelona has done me today.
       I accept this honor not solely for myself but for my 
     colleagues at New York University who share my dedication to 
     the study of Spain and the study of Catalonia.
       De tot el que us he explicat es despren que la nostra 
     Universitat ha assumit un compromis serios i, de fet, profund 
     amb l'estudi de Catalunya i d'Espanya.
       Per tant, espero que entendreu, per tot el que he dit, per 
     que em sento tan profundament emocionat per l'honor que la 
     Universitat de Barcelona m'ha atorgat avui.
       Accepto aquest honor no nomes per a mi, sino tambe per als 
     meus companys de la Universitat de Nova York, que 
     comparteixen la meva dedicacio a l'estudi d'Espanya i a 
     l'estudi de Catalunya.
       Muchas gracias!
       Moltes gracies!

                          ____________________