[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING MIAMI UNIVERSITY FOR ITS 200 YEARS OF COMMITMENT TO 
                     EXTRAORDINARY HIGHER EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. PAUL RYAN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 10, 2009

  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, as a native of Wisconsin, it may 
be strange that I am here to honor Miami University. However, this 
proud Wisconsinite is also a proud graduate of Miami University. I 
graduated from Miami University in 1992.
  One of the reasons why I am here, standing and talking in the well of 
the House of Representatives, is because of the lessons that I learned 
at Miami University. I studied both economics and political science at 
Miami, and the excellent professors I had there--including Dr. Richard 
Hart--created an environment where intellectual curiosity was rewarded. 
It also was where I first became involved with politics. In fact, one 
of my early involvements in politics was working as a college 
Republican, working door-to-door for a new person running for Congress 
by the name of John Boehner, our now esteemed minority leader, for whom 
I knocked on doors in Trenton, Ohio.
  But, more to the point, Mr. Speaker, this is the bicentennial of 
Miami University. Two-hundred years of proud history. Founded in 1809, 
it is a school with such a rich history and proud tradition of top 
academic and athletic achievement. It is known as the ``Cradle of 
Coaches'' due to the high caliber of coaches it has produced, which 
includes such notables as Ara Parseghian, Paul Brown, and Woody Hayes.
  Miami has also gained national recognition as one of the best 
Universities in the country. Referred to as one of the ``Public 
Ivies,'' due to its outstanding academic reputation, Miami ranks as a 
top school for all academic programs, including its business program, 
its arts and sciences programs and its architecture program. 
Importantly, in a time of increasing globalization, it consistently 
ranks as one of the top schools for study abroad programs, including 
the outstanding Transatlantic Seminar program.
  One of the great things about Miami is its beauty, its aesthetics. 
It's one of the most beautiful campuses in America. The poet Robert 
Frost called Miami ``the prettiest campus that ever was.''
  Miami University has such a rich tradition. It has produced so many 
great, faithful servants here in the Capitol, in public, in private 
institutions. It's a real honor and privilege for me to be able to be 
here to be a part of this resolution, to be a cosponsor of it, and to 
honor this tradition, I know that Miami's best days are yet ahead.

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