[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 140 (Thursday, October 1, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF DR. BENJAMIN F. PAYTON

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 30, 2009

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Dr. Benjamin F. Payton of Tuskegee, AL. Dr. Payton will retire next 
year after 28 years as the president of Tuskegee University. During his 
tenure, he guided the university through unprecedented growth and 
development.
  A native of Orangeburg, SC, Dr. Payton graduated Phi Beta Kappa from 
South Carolina State University in 1955 with a B.A. in social studies. 
He went on to receive a B.D. from Harvard in political theology, an 
M.A. from Columbia in the philosophy of religion, and a Ph.D. in social 
ethics from Yale.
  Prior to joining Tuskegee, Dr. Payton was program officer of Higher 
Education and Research at the Ford Foundation in New York City (1972-
81); president of Benedict College in Columbia, SC (1967-72); executive 
director of the Commission on Religion and Race at the Department of 
Social Justice at the National Council of Churches in the U.S.A. (1966-
67); director of the Office of Church and Race at the Protestant 
Council of the City of New York (1965-66); and an assistant professor 
at Howard University in Washington, DC (1963-65).
  Dr. Payton has served Tuskegee since 1981. Among his many 
accomplishments at the university, he established and developed a 
number of programs for students in the fields of engineering, health 
care, bioethics, and business.
  Additionally, he has been instrumental in raising funds for various 
renovation and improvement projects on campus, has helped to increase 
the endowment almost sevenfold, and has served as a shining example of 
leadership and moral courage for every student who steps on the 
Tuskegee University campus.
  He has received three Presidential appointments, first by President 
Ronald Reagan to the Board for International Food and Agricultural 
Development, by President George H. Bush to lead the Task Force on 
Agricultural and Economic Development to Zaire, and most recently by 
President George W. Bush to chair the Advisory Board on Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities.
  Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to recognize Dr. Benjamin F. 
Payton on the occasion of his retirement and I commend him for his 
dedication, outstanding leadership and, above all, thank him for his 
years of sacrifice, hard work, and service to his community and to the 
United States.

                          ____________________