[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 59 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S2639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       TRIBUTE TO GEORGE DENNISON

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize an 
outstanding leader from my home State of Montana as he embarks on a new 
adventure in his life. Since 1990 George Dennison has served as the 
president of the University of Montana; he is now the longest serving 
president in the history of the institution. This summer on August 15, 
20 years to the day after he began his duties at UM, President Dennison 
is retiring. I would like to speak today about some of George's 
achievements and all he has done to better higher education in Montana.
  A historian by training, George earned a bachelor's degree with 
highest honors from the University of Montana in 1962, as well as his 
master's degree in 1963. After earning his Ph.D. in history from the 
University of Washington, George went on to serve as a professor and 
administrator for universities in Arkansas, Washington, and 18 years at 
Colorado State University in Fort Collins. George eventually returned 
to Missoula from Kalamazoo, MI, where he served as provost and vice 
president for academic affairs for Western Michigan University, to 
become president of the University of Montana in 1990.
  I have enjoyed working with George during his tenure as president of 
the university. We share a strong desire to ensure that Montana's 
students have access to a high-quality, world class education that 
prepares them for the careers of the future and to be active members in 
their communities.
  The University of Montana has seen tremendous growth under President 
Dennison's leadership. Over the past two decades, student enrollment 
has jumped from 10,000 to over 15,000. In the 20 years that George has 
served as president, more students have graduated from UM than did in 
the entire previous century. The number of doctorates awarded has 
increased from 15 to 75 annually. External research funding has 
expanded from $7 million in 1990 to over $170 million in 2010. The 
athletic programs at UM have competed well on a national level and have 
created a great sense of school and community spirit as the Griz have a 
faithful following throughout Big Sky country.
  Like President Dennison, I strongly believe that an understanding of 
the world in which we live is essential to a well-rounded education. 
Under George's leadership, the university has developed strong 
international and exchange programs. Building on the work done by our 
dear friend Mike Mansfield, the former Senate majority leader and 
Ambassador to Japan, UM has relationships with universities across 
Asia. These partnerships help strengthen our educational, diplomatic, 
and economic ties with our friends across the Pacific and carry on the 
legacy and good work of Mike and Maureen Mansfield.
  One initiative on which I have been particularly proud to work with 
President Dennison is the educational and cultural exchange program 
that the university recently started with Vietnam. I invited the 
Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. to visit Missoula in 2008 to meet 
with President Dennison about the exchange. President Dennison then 
traveled to Vietnam last year to meet with several universities and 
subsequently signed memoranda of understanding with Can Tho University 
and Vietnamese National University to establish student and faculty 
exchanges. It is important that we provide our students, the leaders of 
tomorrow, with the knowledge they will need to thrive in our 
increasingly global society--this exchange program does just that.
  George has received numerous awards and recognition during his time 
at UM including the Governor's Humanities Award in 2009, the Montana 
Excellence in Leadership Award in 2007, and the Council for Advancement 
and Support of Education Region VIII Leadership Award in 1999. 
President Dennison has received honorary doctorates from universities 
in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. During his career, George has had a 
number of historical works published. His 1976 book, ``The Dorr War: 
Republicanism on Trial, 1831-1861,'' was runner-up in the Frederick 
Jackson Turner Award Competition. Upon retiring as president, George 
plans to spend the first years of his retirement writing a history of 
the University of Montana.
  I would like to once again thank President Dennison for all his hard 
work and commend him for his leadership over the years. I wish him and 
Jane all the best as they start a new chapter in their life.

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