[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 20, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S43]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      REMEMBERING BART SINGLETARY

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am honored to remember Bart 
Singletary--a man of great generosity and humility who recently passed 
away.
  Bart was a devoted father and husband, successful businessman, 
prolific philanthropist and dedicated steward of some of inland 
southern California's most influential civic institutions. His many 
achievements and stalwart presence in the Riverside community will have 
a lasting impact on the people of the Inland Empire.
  Bart Singletary had an abiding connection to the city of Riverside. 
He was a second generation native of the city, and as a young man he 
tended the grounds of the historic Citrus Experiment Station. Years 
later, this land became the site of Bart's beloved alma mater, the 
University of California, Riverside. After marrying his wife, Barbara, 
Bart took a position at a real estate firm that was offered to him by a 
fellow Riverside native and childhood friend, William Austin. They 
eventually became partners in William Austin Co., a property management 
and development firm based in Riverside. They enjoyed a successful 
business partnership that spanned more than four decades.
  Bart's affection for his community was embodied in his relentless 
involvement in many of the area's civic organizations and educational 
institutions. He served as the chairman of the Greater Riverside 
Chambers of Commerce, he was the president of Riverside Community 
Hospital, and he helped to found the city of Riverside Economic 
Development Committee. He was also president of the board of trustees 
for the UC Riverside Foundation, and was actively involved with the 
California Citrus State Historic Park Operating Corporation, serving as 
its treasurer and on its Board of Directors.
  In 1984, at the age of 57, Bart enrolled at UC Riverside to continue 
studies that he had begun years earlier at UCLA. He approached his 
schooling with characteristic humility and good humor--taking an 
internship at the university where his supervisor, Vice Chancellor for 
University Advancement Emeritus Jim Erickson, was 10 years his junior. 
His experience as an undergraduate during this time cemented his 
commitment to the university. In 2006, Bart and Barbara, along with his 
partner William Austin and his wife Toby, gave $15.5 million to UCR. 
This gift was the largest in the university's history and represented 
the largest combined charitable trust given to a University of 
California campus in the first half of this decade. The donation 
enabled the university to create 22 endowed professorships and 
bolstered the university's proposal to establish a medical school.
  Singletary leaves a distinguished legacy of service and leadership 
that is an example to us all. His trusted counsel and willingness to 
leverage his success for the benefit of others endeared him to, and 
earned him the respect of, all of those who were fortunate enough to 
have known him.
  He is survived by his wife, Barbara, three children, three step-
children, and five grandchildren. I extend my heartfelt condolences to 
them.
  The city of Riverside, State of California and our Nation has lost an 
exemplary individual with the passing of Bart Singletary.

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